High-End Retail Shops Around the World Preparing to Showcase Apple Watch

[MacRumors]

During yesterday's Apple Watch event, Apple CEO Tim Cook suggested the high-end Apple Watch Edition will be available in limited quantities at a select number of stores. He was likely referring to some of the pop up shops we've seen under construction, in upscale department stores Galeries Lafayette in Paris and Selfridges in London.

Women's Wear Daily has shared some more information on the locations where we will see the $10,000+ Apple Watch Edition and other versions of the Apple Watch shown off around the world. Described as "shop-in-shops" in high-visibility locations, each of Apple's pop up stores will ensure customers looking to make major purchases will get the best service possible.

At Selfridges, the Apple Watch will be displayed in the aptly named Wonder Room, which houses high-end jewelry and watches in a brightly lit room decked out with treasure-filled glass cases. At Galeries Lafayette, the Apple Watch will be displayed among European brands on the first floor of the facility, and at the Isetan Department Store in Shinjuku, Tokyo, the Apple Watch will be displayed on the ground floor.

Other speciality fashion stores will also sell select Apple Watch models, including Colette in Paris, where the Apple Watch had its fashion world debut, Dover Street Market in London and Tokyo, Maxfield in Los Angeles, The Corner in Berlin, and Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu. All of these are fashion-oriented upscale stores.

Unlike with the iPhone and the iPad, Apple will likely be keeping a tight rein over which of its resellers are able to offer the Apple Watch. As it is positioned as a fashion accessory, it makes more sense for customers to be able to walk into a high-end store to make an Apple Watch purchase rather than a Best Buy or an AT&T store.

For the Apple Watch Edition especially, Apple wants to create a special, one-on-one buying experience that's not exactly possible with today's crowded retail Apple Stores. There have been hints that Apple is planning to redesign many of its retail locations to facilitate Apple Watch sales, and some of those changes may be implemented ahead of the Apple Watch's April 10 debut date.

Apple vice president of special projects Paul Deneve commented on Apple's plan to sell the Apple Watch in speciality stores, saying that shopping for a watch is a "deeply personal" experience.

"The experience of shopping for an Apple Watch is a deeply personal one. The department stores and specialty stores that we're working with are some of the best in the world at offering such experiences, so it was natural for us to see our product there," said Paul Deneve, Apple's vice president of special projects who joined the tech company after years helming fashion houses including Yves Saint Laurent, Lanvin and Nina Ricci. "Given the very focused distribution that we've pursued for this launch, every door that sells Apple Watch will provide a unique experience for every customer that walks in."

Apple will begin accepting pre-orders for the Apple Watch on Friday, April 10. At that time, the company will also be displaying the Apple Watch in its retail stores for customers to try on, and it's likely many of the pop up shops may open their doors at that time. The Apple Watch's official launch date is April 24.

Article Link: High-End Retail Shops Around the World Preparing to Showcase Apple Watch

 

[iMaven]

I wonder how many people will really purchase the $10,000 watch. Where are the diamonds?

 

[jonblatho]

I wonder how many people will really purchase the $10,000 watch.

Edit: Quote changed between me reading it and posting it, so my original response is worthless

 

[Mr. Gates]

I wonder how many people will really purchase the $10,000 watch.

I'd say about 1%

 

[heimo]

I'll first get one Sport just for using Apple Pay to pay for the Edition. (yeah, sure)

 

[iMaven]

Edit: Quote changed between me reading it and posting it, so my original response is worthless

I changed it because I realized the answer after I posted. Thanks though.

 

[0007776]

I wonder how many people will really purchase the $10,000 watch. Where are the diamonds?

I think it is mostly there so that people buying the lower ranges feel like they are getting a great deal.

 

[shanson27]

This is just crazy, $18.000 for a watch

 

[Ceviche Lover]

I don't plan on buying any of the watches. They're trying to market it as jewelry but a nice watch like a Rolex or Omega won't depreciate in value in one year like this will. It's basically a computer housed in a watch casing, that's it. People already spend enough times staring into their phones and now people want yet another gadget considering your iphone can do 95% of the the Apple Watch can do.

10k for a watch that comes with a band made of rubber that will allow you to send happy face drawings to people, funny stuff. I'd rather take a SpeedMaster which is much more aesthetically pleasing than this thing.

 

[RokkenRock]

I'd say about 1%

When we are talking about millions of apple watches sold, even 1% is a hell lot of 10K gold apple watch.

 

[MacsRgr8]

This is just crazy, $18.000 for a watch

Could be worse.

 

[Gary03mw]

I know someone will buy these things but can't see why. It's a smart watch. The hardware will be outdated in a year or two. I understand coming at this with some fashion sense, and I applaud Apple for realizing this needed to be a line of products instead of everyone wearing the same thing, but this just seems off to me.

It can't be timeless if it has a lifespan of a year or two and unless you just have money to burn you don't spend 15k on a watch that isn't timeless.

 

[Aluminum213]

10k for a made in China watch with the same internals as the $350 watch

Lol


I'll stick with my Swiss made timepiece, thanks apple for making the decision so easy for me

 

[lazard]

Could be worse.

except those watches appreciate in value. a $17,000 apple watch will be worth a fraction of it's original value in a couple of years.

 

[Moonlight]

What is Apple's point of making the $10,000 Apple watch? Can someone tell me?

Is it to make more money for Apple? Is it to make Apple seem higher end than they already are? Is it to get press for the Apple watch? Is it to alienate all of the Apple fans that are not super rich? Is it to justify Angela Ahrendts existence on earth?

It all seems like a bad idea.

 

[imola.zhp]

I know someone will buy these things but can't see why. It's a smart watch. The hardware will be outdated in a year or two. I understand coming at this with some fashion sense, and I applaud Apple for realizing this needed to be a line of products instead of everyone wearing the same thing, but this just seems off to me.

It can't be timeless if it has a lifespan of a year or two.

People that can afford these do not care if the hardware will be outdated in a year or two. They only care about having the most expensive watch available and the attention it will gather.

 

[iMaven]

except those watches appreciate in value. a $17,000 apple watch will be worth a fraction of it's original value in a couple of years.

Or when the next version comes out in 2016.

 

[uwdude]

This is part of the reason why this is becoming a very odd purchasing decision for me. This really is a completely new market in some ways. Normally a high end watch, whether $700 or $10,000, is something you purchase with the mindset that it will last decades and be your (or one of your) permanent fancy watch(es). But this is probably going to end up being a once every 2 or 3 years purchase (or even possibly every year), unless they let you upgrade the internals. So this is a new marriage of fashion and tech, that is going to force people to make new types of choices about what materials they are willing to pay for in a rather short term purchase.

 

[ttss6]

If I won the lottery, that would be the first thing I'd buy. It's such a beautiful, underrated design. Circular displays wouldn't work well with the scrolling and lists that you are primarily working with on the device. And though some say it looks thick, it's only slightly thicker than the 6th gen nano while having a full-on iOS running with a whole SoC, battery, speaker, tactic feedback engine, etc. Further it can't go that much thinner considering how it compares in size with the digital crown. Jony would despise a Watch that has a crown that stands above the display.

 

[McPc]

I wonder if it may be possible in future versions for Apple to sell the "guts" of the watch and do a transplant into a previous model which could be done at any Apple Store for a bit less than the cost of a whole new watch?

I agree that the watch will outdated in a 1-2 year time span.

 

[troop231]

Where are the diamonds?

That will come in next year's first world edition model.

 

[Arran]

I think it is mostly there so that people buying the lower ranges feel like they are getting a great deal.

That may have been the intent. But as the average Apple customer leaves the store clutching their $1000 steel watch, they're going to feel they settled for second best. A very poor second best.

And there's no way these poor folks can even look at the $17K model on the way out and think "someday", because it'll forever be out of their league: Probably not something Apple's detached leadership can even begin to comprehend - but it's a shabby way to treat your core customers.

 

[lazard]

I wonder if it may be possible in future versions for Apple to sell the "guts" of the watch and do a transplant into a previous model which could be done at any Apple Store for a bit less than the cost of a whole new watch?

I agree that the watch will outdated in a 1-2 year time span.

Apple would never do that, they'd tell you purchase their next gen watch.

 

[BJMRamage]

checking your Amex Black Card to enter and see the Watch Edition.


I suppose I won't be seeing the $10k watch anytime soon. though I can look at the other watches and get an idea what a Gold watch will look like.

the $10k watch is not for me...never will be. the other Apple watches are not for me at this point either. Maybe the watches will be in next year's Oscars bag...for the already rich.

 

[paul4339]

except those watches appreciate in value. a $17,000 apple watch will be worth a fraction of it's original value in a couple of years.

many people that spend $17k on a watch don't do it for appreciation in value. They do it for status or other reasons. It's the same people that spend $ '000 on handbangs, clothes, etc. all which goes out of fashion or wears out (depreciates). I guess Apple is just applying it to technology and hiring fashion industry execs to help them.