Apple Says New Piazza Liberty Store in Milan, Italy With Waterfall Entrance is Coming Soon

[IJ Reilly]

Milan, Italy and not Milan, Ohio?

Whew, that was a relief!

 

[osaga]

Street view

 

[mac_in_tosh]

I've only ever been to one Apple store. It was crowded and the noise level was almost unbearable. I couldn't wait to get my stuff and leave and felt bad for the people working there. Are they all like that?

 

[Porco]

Sounds lovely, would love to visit one day.

I can't be the only one who read this as "Pizza Liberty", can I?

Won't you spare just $2 a month to help free pizza?

 

[sofila]

Sorry I'm not as enlightened as you. Apple is flush with cash they don't know what to do with... so they are spending lots of money on expensive historical real estate. Fine. Other companies have over spent on expensive real estate that later becomes a burdensome expensive carrying cost when their business takes a turn. Most Apple customers I would guess intend to spend as little time as possible in the Apple store to either buy something or have it fixed. Whenever I've ventured to an Apple Store, my primary interest is how quickly I can get there. The glimpse I have of the outside of the building before stepping inside where they all look identical, lasts about 10 seconds.

I may agree with your line of reasoning, but the Milano Apple store is really and old long strange tale. A more than 2200 years old city in the centre of a 7,500,000 inhabitants metropolitan area. Fashion and design attracting more than 6,700,000 tourists in 2016, a growing figure. You may want to have a downtown location, integrated with the surroundings. You can't just rent some rooms a put an Apple logo on the street.

 

[kaneda]

Why would we use shops, even Apple shops, as community gathering places? Are they going to have chairs and tables with no Apple products on, and start selling food and drink?

Ooh, like that ancient Apple cyber cafe concept we saw pictures of a while back?

Add starbucks to Apple store!! Problem solved!

 

[apolloa]

Seems ostentatious to me? I think they could spend the money on better things.

 

[convergent]

I may agree with your line of reasoning, but the Milano Apple store is really and old long strange tale. A more than 2200 years old city in the centre of a 7,500,000 inhabitants metropolitan area. Fashion and design attracting more than 6,700,000 tourists in 2016, a growing figure. You may want to have a downtown location, integrated with the surroundings. You can't just rent some rooms a put an Apple logo on the street.

I don't disagree with what you've said here. I get it... they want to be fashionable, artistic, all that stuff. But meanwhile they are moving away from supporting the pros that work in fashion, art, music, etc.. They've somehow gotten their priorities whacked and are spending more energy on an "artistic" store than products to support "artistic" professionals. Or maybe they've never really targeted professionals and it was more of an accidental market. They did at one point care about education, schools, etc.. That is being lost.

 

[MH01]

It doesn't.

You would need to have an awareness of art history and architecture over hundreds/thousands of years in order to understand my comment. To help foster that awareness, you might consider enrolling in a few art history classes at the local junior college.

Those pictures do not reflect your statement in my opinion...If the headline did not say Milan.....would this debate be happing.

Same happens in Oxford street, unless you have a good understanding of English imperialism, you just don't get the full experience

Genuine question , how do those pics reflect your statement ?
[doublepost=1494872295][/doublepost]

Finally!! Finally I have a reason to go to Italy!!

To pay more for Apple products?

 

[buckwheet]

... they want to be fashionable, artistic, all that stuff. But meanwhile they are moving away from supporting the pros that work in fashion, art, music, etc.. They've somehow gotten their priorities whacked and are spending more energy on an "artistic" store than products to support "artistic" professionals. Or maybe they've never really targeted professionals and it was more of an accidental market. They did at one point care about education, schools, etc.. That is being lost.

It's not really about being "artistic" or "fashionable", it's about becoming a "place to go"... Think of it like social media; the valuation of a new site or service is rarely about the actual money that changes hands (at least in the beginning), but rather the number of users that sign up and keep returning. Ultimately, people == money. I think Ahrendts is just taking that same philosophy out into "real" space. And actually, I'd say she's being very smart in leveraging Apple's capacity to occupy space (i.e., $$$) as its own implicit value. Only a handful of companies can do that. The reality is that their online store will always slaughter any retail outlet in terms of sales numbers. The physical stores shouldn't have to be "about" sales at all—they should be about the culture and the experience. Most cities are generally lacking in places to just go, and enjoy being out. That's what she wants to create... And I think it's very, very smart. If you made a very cool place to go, hang out, do some work, meet up with friends, with no pressure to buy stuff, it would be packed. And if you can afford to do that, you can benefit enormously in goodwill and the fostering of brand loyalty. Not to mention the fact that Apple could potentially learn an enormous amount from the people just hanging out, enjoying themselves. Nobody understood, early only, how Facebook could possibly make money...

Also, I think it's wrong to assume that Apple hasn't spent any money on pro r&d. They spent the money, but they followed misguided design ideas when spending it. I mean, there's nothing about the new MacBook Pro that says "cheap"; on the contrary, everything is extremely refined and polished. And that costs money. It's just a misstep in conception. I don't think any pro wants a junky, cheaply built machine—I certainly don't. But they do have certain specs they need, and that's where Apple dropped the ball. In truth, current specs don't require any special r&d budget. You just keep up-to-date with the roadmaps of your major suppliers, and voila, your specs are good. (Or, putting it another way, they could have just released a space-grey version of the 2015 case, with top-end specs, and spent much, much less than what they must have spent developing the new case). Having industry standard specs isn't difficult. Honestly, I think Apple just developed a misconstrued image of their "pro" user... Some douchey marketing types got the "pro user" profile wrong, and engineering did as they were told...

 

[tuckerjj]

Ha, just arrived in Milan today and happened to walk past this.

 

[oldwatery]

Build a modern computer Apple. Your BS fluff is wearing so thin. All marketing....zero substance.

 

[Asclepio]

I can't be the only one who read this as "Pizza Liberty", can I?

me too and i'm italian lmaoo

 

[Solomani]

Step 1: Place comfortable chairs and sofa's.
Step 2: Add a coffee corner

Without that, Ahrendts can want whatever she wants, but it won't work IMO.

I agree. Starbucks has a great retail model, and that is why they are the undisputed KING in the cafe business. Do they have great coffee? No way, there are small shops that provide better coffee. But Starbucks is the place that offers convenient and comfortable seating, free WiFi, and even tables where you can study or chill. They got these concepts right yeeeears ago, and others are only trying to catch up.

Nordstroms also got it right yeeears ago. Comfortable seating and a lounging area for their wealthy and pampered clientele. A nice coffee stand with snacks and sandwiches. Hence the customers are more likely to enjoy their shopping experience, possibly stay around the store's premises for a LOT longer.

I dunno why Apple never caught onto this. Maybe Steve Jobs hated the idea of sticky greasy post-meal fingers touching all those iPad screens?

 

[swingerofbirch]

But that's not uniform. It's true with older and smaller Apple stores in smaller malls. But stand-alone flagship stores, say in San Francisco, are huge and have areas set up for presentations and other functions. I imagine the transition will take some time.

Maybe. I live in a small town myself, but the areas with the shoebox stores near me are in the middle of metro areas with millions of people in aggregate (combining the population of the entire area). We used to have a college Apple store in my town that was really nice, but shut down for reasons I don't know. So I have to go to Best Buy to see Apple products. I think Apple could definitely manage to have more and bigger stores in areas like mine (I mean we have probably 5 mattress stores that seem like they're always empty), but I wonder if they insist on having maximum profit per square footage? In the same way they insist on only selling products that they can sell with high margins.

 

[citysnaps]

Maybe. I live in a small town myself, but the areas with the shoebox stores near me are in the middle of metro areas with millions of people in aggregate (combining the population of the entire area). We used to have a college Apple store in my town that was really nice, but shut down for reasons I don't know. So I have to go to Best Buy to see Apple products. I think Apple could definitely manage to have more and bigger stores in areas like mine (I mean we have probably 5 mattress stores that seem like they're always empty), but I wonder if they insist on having maximum profit per square footage? In the same way they insist on only selling products that they can sell with high margins.

Because they make more money? With finite resources, given a choice of locating a building in an area where sales will be excellent vs an area where sales would not be so good, why choose the latter?

Would you be OK if your employer only paid you 50% of your expected salary? Or would you want (at least) the expected salary for the line of work you are in?

 

[Victor Mortimer]

So, Apple can figure out how to waterproof an underground store that you get to by walking between two waterfalls.

Maybe next they'll be able to figure out how to make a MacBook Pro water resistant.

Come on, Apple. It's not that hard. You figured out how to do it with phones.

 

[recoil80]

Add starbucks to Apple store!! Problem solved!

The first Starbucks in Milan will open about half a mile far from the AS, it will be another iconic place

http://finedininglovers-it.cdn.cros...t/l_5731_starbucks-italia-milano-cordusio.jpg

 

[Casset]

Apple today announced that it will soon open a new retail store at Piazza Liberty, or Liberty Square, in Milan, Italy.

Nice!

 

[swingerofbirch]

Because they make more money? With finite resources, given a choice of locating a building in an area where sales will be excellent vs an area where sales would not be so good, why choose the latter?

Would you be OK if your employer only paid you 50% of your expected salary? Or would you want (at least) the expected salary for the line of work you are in?

I don't think you understand what I wrote. Apple makes the most profit per square foot of any retailer. They have a new, or perhaps renewed, goal to focus on the experience. Not having enough space for customers is incompatible with that goal. I'm not talking about the location of the store, but about the size of the stores. It will cost them more to lease more real estate (which would lower the profit per square foot), but it creates a better experience for the customer, which is what they say they want. They want to be a place people go as part of the community, like Starbucks is the "third place." Right now, Apple stores are literally the last store I would want to go into because it's packed, noisy, and uncomfortable.

 

[convergent]

It's not really about being "artistic" or "fashionable", it's about becoming a "place to go"... Think of it like social media; the valuation of a new site or service is rarely about the actual money that changes hands (at least in the beginning), but rather the number of users that sign up and keep returning. Ultimately, people == money. I think Ahrendts is just taking that same philosophy out into "real" space. And actually, I'd say she's being very smart in leveraging Apple's capacity to occupy space (i.e., $$$) as its own implicit value. Only a handful of companies can do that. The reality is that their online store will always slaughter any retail outlet in terms of sales numbers. The physical stores shouldn't have to be "about" sales at all—they should be about the culture and the experience. Most cities are generally lacking in places to just go, and enjoy being out. That's what she wants to create... And I think it's very, very smart. If you made a very cool place to go, hang out, do some work, meet up with friends, with no pressure to buy stuff, it would be packed. And if you can afford to do that, you can benefit enormously in goodwill and the fostering of brand loyalty. Not to mention the fact that Apple could potentially learn an enormous amount from the people just hanging out, enjoying themselves. Nobody understood, early only, how Facebook could possibly make money...

Also, I think it's wrong to assume that Apple hasn't spent any money on pro r&d. They spent the money, but they followed misguided design ideas when spending it. I mean, there's nothing about the new MacBook Pro that says "cheap"; on the contrary, everything is extremely refined and polished. And that costs money. It's just a misstep in conception. I don't think any pro wants a junky, cheaply built machine—I certainly don't. But they do have certain specs they need, and that's where Apple dropped the ball. In truth, current specs don't require any special r&d budget. You just keep up-to-date with the roadmaps of your major suppliers, and voila, your specs are good. (Or, putting it another way, they could have just released a space-grey version of the 2015 case, with top-end specs, and spent much, much less than what they must have spent developing the new case). Having industry standard specs isn't difficult. Honestly, I think Apple just developed a misconstrued image of their "pro" user... Some douchey marketing types got the "pro user" profile wrong, and engineering did as they were told...

On the first topic, I don't disagree with the idea of what you are saying, but that is not what Apple is doing. All the Apple stores I've been are nearly identical inside. I've been in stores in many countries, but maybe I've missed something if they are trying to create a "place to be" social area. Its a store without checkout lines. There is no place to sit down and chat with friends, no place to get a coffee, etc.. This is not a social gathering place unless we are talking about extreme geeks that want to stand together and look at Apple products. Its a store. Barnes and Noble has done what you are describing, by having coffee shops in their book store, and encouraging people to come there and almost treat it like a library. Apple has not done anything like that. The Microsoft store at least will give you a bottle of water, coffee, or soda, while you are there looking at their stuff. The Apple store I've never seen anyone with a beverage that they didn't bring with them. The bottom line is that Apple doesn't need to do anything to make their stores "the place to be". In fact, they have an online queuing system to keep you from coming there and hanging out. You have to wait days to get an appointment. They clearly want to have people come in, shop, and then leave... or come in, get their repair done and leave.

On the next topic, yes it is misguided. Its misguided to things that pros don't care about. Pros want function and power. Their pro products... hardware and software... appear neglected because they have been. The Mac Pro was idiotic. The prior products often got put in racks... so Apple makes a cylinder with minimal expansion and lets its go unchanged for years. That is neglect. Some of their pro software... like for photography... was abandoned and replaced by a consumer grade product. Their pro laptops get a gimmicky feature into a premium priced machine that doesn't have pro level specs... i.e. max memory. We can go on and on. And the problem is that if this audience moves away from them, they probably won't come back.

Contrast that with what they are putting energy into. Hip hop musicians. Nearly a whole keynote talking about messaging bling. Videos about black glossy paint being applied to a phone. Games. Time will tell if Tim is blowing smoke or they really have a pipeline of great pro products.

 

[buckwheet]

On the first topic, I don't disagree with the idea of what you are saying, but that is not what Apple is doing...

Well, you're talking about stores you've been to, but I thought the point was the Ahrendts was talking about where they want to go with the stores—at least, the flagship stores. I don't honestly see how they could do it with the little mall stores. There just isn't room...

On the next topic, yes it is misguided. Its misguided to things that pros don't care about. Pros want function and power. Their pro products... hardware and software... appear neglected because they have been. The Mac Pro was idiotic. The prior products often got put in racks... so Apple makes a cylinder with minimal expansion and lets its go unchanged for years. That is neglect. Some of their pro software... like for photography... was abandoned and replaced by a consumer grade product. Their pro laptops get a gimmicky feature into a premium priced machine that doesn't have pro level specs... i.e. max memory. We can go on and on. And the problem is that if this audience moves away from them, they probably won't come back.

Contrast that with what they are putting energy into. Hip hop musicians. Nearly a whole keynote talking about messaging bling. Videos about black glossy paint being applied to a phone. Games. Time will tell if Tim is blowing smoke or they really have a pipeline of great pro products.

Well, broadly speaking, I agree. But Logic Pro X, for example, has had several upgrades in recent months, some of which brought very useful, very "pro" (as in Pro Tools! ;-) ) features. So there is attention going to the pro market still, even if it is a bit skimpy. But honestly, I get the feeling the do finally understand. And actually, more to the point, I think they're seeing that, since the tablet craze didn't really fly—at least not in a big, "post PC" kind of way—there is still definitely a market in laptops (and even desktops). That market, at least for now, will be driven by high-end/pro customers. However, I suspect they're also noticing that a whole new wave of computationally intensive software is on its way... Specifically, I'm talking about machine learning, AR, and VR—basically all stuff that will require hefty CPU and GPU number crunching. These technologies will likely be bringing computationally intensive tasks to even quite average users, which may require the industry as a whole to start pushing the tech a little harder again (i.e., a little less focus on power consumption, more on speed/parallelism).

We'll see what the coming year brings...

 

[L-Viz]

​

Apple's retail chief Angela Ahrendts wants Apple Stores to be more of community gathering places, rather than just a place to buy the latest iPhone or iPad. As part of those plans, Apple Piazza Liberty will be an open space for all to "have a break, be with friends, and discover new interests."

The store will feature Apple's next-generation retail design with indoor trees and a large screen for "Today at Apple" sessions and other events.

How about serving Beer and Pizza?

 

[qubex]

Anyone know if this is already under construction? I'll be in Milan next month and would love to see this thing but I doubt it opens that soon.

This is right near my home. The square is currently torn up so I’m assuming construction is what’s going on.

I wish to remark that I’m not really impressed with the idea of a (formerly) beautiful square being converted into a sunk-in Apple Store.

 

[curtvaughan]

Cold and clinical? You make it sound like an examination room. I don't know what Apple Stores you visit, but none of the one's I have been to (30 Plus) resemble anything like your description.

Each store has its own unique decor and art form. I think modern appeal has a different take on its own theme. Its a technology related theme when you visit an Apple Store, "Homely" is not what Apple is aiming for at all.

I suspect the OP was thinking in terms of "homey".