Apple Stores in August: All the Latest Updates as Busy Month Continues

[MacRumors]

August has been a busy month for Apple Store news, and we have some more updates to share.

The relocated Apple Shadyside in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania​

First, Apple has updated its website with an image of its relocated Apple Shadyside store in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The store is still located on Walnut Street, just west of Bellefonte Street, in a unit formerly occupied by clothing retailer Gap. Apple gave the unit an all-new brick facade, and it is using the second floor as a Backstage area for employees. The store features a modern design with a combined Genius Bar and Apple Pickup area.

Second, Apple has previewed its all-new store at the Uniwalk Qianhai shopping mall in Shenzhen, China, ahead its grand opening on Saturday, August 16, at 10 a.m. local time. This location features a sweeping curved glass facade, a Genius Bar with varied table and seat heights for accessibility, a dedicated Apple Pickup station, a seating area where customers can try on the Apple Vision Pro, and many other modern design elements.

The all-new Apple Uniwalk Qianhai in Shenzhen, China​

Third, Apple Den Haag in the Netherlands reopened today, after being temporarily closed since the beginning of June. According to a reader of the Dutch blog iCulture, there are not many customer-facing changes in the store, with some employees there allegedly saying that the updates were primarily focused on internal facilities.

Fourth, graphic designer Filip Chudzinski told us that renovations at Apple's iconic Opéra store in Paris are now completed. He told us that the remodeled store features a Genius Bar with varied table and seat heights, a dedicated Apple Pickup station, a seating area where customers can try on the Apple Vision Pro, an updated basement level, and many other improvements. The store remained open while renovations were completed over the past few months.

The new Genius Bar at Apple Opéra in Paris, France (shot by Filip Chudzinski)​

And finally, a reminder that Apple Partridge Creek in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan will be permanently closing this Saturday. All affected employees have the opportunity to continue working for Apple. Later this year, Apple will be opening an all-new store in Downtown Detroit, near the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Grand River Avenue.

Article Link: Apple Stores in August: All the Latest Updates as Busy Month Continues

 

[Justin Cymbal]

The relocated Apple Shadyside in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania​

First, Apple has updated its website with an image of its relocated Apple Shadyside store in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

What a beautiful store! My relatives on my Dad’s side of the family all live in the Cleveland area so if I get a chance to make a trip down to Pittsburgh, I will definitely visit this new store sometime in the future

 

[DownUnderDan]

When your Apple store is on the wrong side of the street.

 

[newyorksole]

glad you guys are doing more/regular Apple Store coverage

I wonder what the next major flagship store is going to be

I don’t even remember what the last one was

 

[Dark_Omen]

With the surge in online shopping, I don’t see the point of spending so much money on retail stores that don’t even generate a profit. It would be more understandable if Apple’s stores were actual sales environments. Instead, Apple hires employees that have less job skills than those that work at McDonalds, and there’s no incentive to upsell and generate more revenue, because there’s no commission structure in place. At least an actual sales environment would drive up revenue for the company and not be a huge waste of money.

Why do you think there are so many Best Buy stores closing? Do Microsoft stores even exist anymore? They’ve closed. Non-sales retail doesn’t exist because it’s not profitable, yet, Apple is designing their stores like a museum.

Perhaps instead of wasting so much money on stores and their design, we could take the savings, and keep the iPhone prices the same this year instead of increasing them?

 

[ipedro]

Getting rid of the Genius Bar was clearly a mistake that I'm glad they're reversing.

 

[svish]

Good to know about the various stores. Eagerly waiting for the new ones to open in India within the next few months.

 

[johkg]

With the surge in online shopping, I don’t see the point of spending so much money on retail stores that don’t even generate a profit. It would be more understandable if Apple’s stores were actual sales environments. Instead, Apple hires employees that have less job skills than those that work at McDonalds, and there’s no incentive to upsell and generate more revenue, because there’s no commission structure in place. At least an actual sales environment would drive up revenue for the company and not be a huge waste of money.

Why do you think there are so many Best Buy stores closing? Do Microsoft stores even exist anymore? They’ve closed. Non-sales retail doesn’t exist because it’s not profitable, yet, Apple is designing their stores like a museum.

Perhaps instead of wasting so much money on stores and their design, we could take the savings, and keep the iPhone prices the same this year instead of increasing them?

You should go into an Apple Store and see how many people are buying from their stores. Apple hire employees from all walks of life. While Apple sales specialist don't have sales commission they do have performance metrics like sales targets, AppleCare and Accessories attachment rates they have to meet. Here's a little secret, store and floor managers do get commission if their store hit their quarterly revenue sales target. (I was a Genius)

Besides accessories like cases and screen protectors Apple Stores only sell Apple products so their profit margin is very high compare to BB stores. Here's a tidbit, MS stores were never built to make money, they were used as advertising and marketing for their Xbox brand. MS poached a few Apple store managers when they opened their store near our store.

 

[Sykora171]

What a beautiful store! My relatives on my Dad’s side of the family all live in the Cleveland area so if I get a chance to make a trip down to Pittsburgh, I will definitely visit this new store sometime in the future

Born and raised in Pittsburgh and used to frequent their old store before moving out of state. Cool to see it feature! New one does look very nice.

The "old" store is from the 2000s and has the old stainless steel kind of outside aesthetic. On street view, you can go all the way back to 2007 and see the giant original iPhone hanging in the window

 

[Hooyah]

I envy the new stores that escaped the all-wood aesthetic. It feels like being in some old country club locker room. I was disappointed to find that it’s not solid, real wood. A very expensive veneer at best.

 

[Dark_Omen]

You should go into an Apple Store and see how many people are buying from their stores. Apple hire employees from all walks of life. While Apple sales specialist don't have sales commission they do have performance metrics like sales targets, AppleCare and Accessories attachment rates they have to meet. Here's a little secret, store and floor managers do get commission if their store hit their quarterly revenue sales target. (I was a Genius)

Besides accessories like cases and screen protectors Apple Stores only sell Apple products so their profit margin is very high compare to BB stores. Here's a tidbit, MS stores were never built to make money, they were used as advertising and marketing for their Xbox brand. MS poached a few Apple store managers when they opened their store near our store.

If the store didn’t exist, the person would just buy online anyways. The stores aren’t profitable just because people walk into it.