Today we get our first glimpse at Apple’s plans for that upcoming flagship retail store that we noted earlier this week was in the works for Stockholm, Sweden. The images come from a presentation by Apple (via feber.se) showing off a model and renders of what the new retail location will look like located in Stockholm’s high profile Kungsträdgården area.
In the days following Apple’s record Q1 earnings announcements, Apple CEO Tim Cook and other top Apple executives held a Town Hall meeting at the Infinite Loop headquarters in Cupertino to reveal new announcements and take attendee questions.
Multiple sources in attendance at the event said that Cook as well as newly appointed Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams each spoke and made announcements and teases related to new employee benefits, future iPad growth, Apple Watch sales, future retail stores in China, Apple Campus 2, and the future product pipeline.
Cook also fielded questions from the audience, attempting to reduce concerns related to the company’s iPhone dependence, discussing porting more Apple services to Android, growth in India, and releasing cheaper iPhones to appease growing markets.
Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts has recently sat down with Fast Company for a brief interview in which she discusses what her first two years at Apple have been like. Ahrendts previously was the CEO of high-end fashion retailer Burberry. Ahrendts notes of the strategies she’s employed to improve Apple’s retail chain, including her strategy of treating them just as she would treat an executive.
While retail head Angela Ahrendts last year confirmed an earlier report that the company would be opening its first Apple Store in Singapore, she didn’t reveal the location. The address had, though, been reported as 170 Orchard Road in an email from a fitness company advising that its branch there would be closing to make way for a new Apple Store.
Photos posted by iPhone Hacks appear to show work underway at the address as the windows are covered. While there’s still no definitive evidence that this is the location, it looks like we may not have to wait too much longer before we find out.
Apple announced last year that solar energy will power all of the company’s operations in Singapore, including the new store.
Update: We’ve updated the 60 Minutes Apple episode via Vimeo at the bottom
As expected, this weekend’s episode of 60 Minutes on CBS was chockfull of Apple news and anecdotes. Retail chief Angela Ahrendts, design head Jony Ive, CEO Tim Cook, and many more all joined host Charlie Rose to discuss a wide range of topics, including encryption, terrorism, design, retail, and much more…
Jony Ive will give a rare look into Apple’s secret design studio in Cupertino this coming Sunday, December 20th. Ive will lead Charlie Rose through the secret design study for his popular show 60 Minutes on CBS. In addition to a tour of the design lab, Rose will also get a “first look at Apple’s store of the future” from retail chief Angela Ahrendts.
One of the things Apple’s retail head Angela Ahrendts said in her interview with Fast Company‘s Rick Tetzei is that Apple had made the decision to back away from Black Friday sales because “being good to your employees will always be good for business.”
Rather than extending store hours for Black Friday events, or just turning the stores into even more crowded places during what has increasingly turned into Black November rather than just Black Friday, Ahrendts decided to give staff a break. That’s great and should be applauded but why not just do an online sale? Do the computers need the time off too?
Even more curious, Apple, who controls US retailer pricing, seems to be letting every US retailer knock huge amounts off of all Apple products for Black Friday…
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Ahead of her appearance at Bloomberg’s ‘Year Ahead’ business summit tomorrow, Apple’s SVP of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts has today made an appearance at Fast Company’s Innovation Festival in New York City. Ahrendts sat down with Fast Company Editor at Large Rick Tetzei to discuss her role at Apple since joining the company in 2014…
Angela Ahrendts, SVP Retail and Online Stores, is the latest Apple executive to make a public conference appearance this fall. Bloomberg announced today that Ahrendts is set to speak at its third annual ‘The Year Ahead’ business summit happening next week. Michael Bloomberg will open the two-day event on Monday, November 9, in New York City. Angela Ahrendts’s appearance follows the next day at Park Hyatt where Apple’s evolving retail strategy is likely to be a focus of the conversation.
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via The Washington Post
Two members of Apple’s executive team have been spotted celebrating the launch of the company’s latest smartphone with shoppers and retail employees. CEO Tim Cook was spotted in the Georgetown Apple Store hanging out and taking selfies with customers.
Meanwhile, Retail SVP Angela Ahrendts was out of the country, spending her day with employees at the Covent Garden store in London according to Twitter. Like Cook, Ahrendts snapped photos with employees during the day’s events.
[tweet https://twitter.com/gdondon/status/647418959306862592 align=’center’]
A planning permission meeting for a new Apple Store in Memphis has seemingly revealed more information about Apple’s plans for its retail stores. According to the Apple representative, the Memphis project represents one of the first ‘next generation’ Apple Store designs that Apple is rolling out around the world, starting in the fall. The Memphis store will be part of the first rollout of the new look stores in the US.
So what does the ‘next generation’ Apple Store look like?
Apple is continuing to tweak its Apple Watch showroom experience within Apple Stores. Upon the initial rollout of the Apple Watch in April, Apple Stores installed large glass tables as a showcase for the different Apple Watch variations. Customers could test drive the Apple Watch via a demo unit connected to an iPad mini or try it on at a series of try-on stations. Following a pilot program across select Apple Stores across the world, Apple has now begun a widespread rollout of a new Apple Watch testing program called Mobile Try-On, according to Apple Retail employees.
In her latest video to retail store employees, Apple Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts discusses upcoming deeper integration of business sales across Apple Retail Stores as well as new back to school sales tactics for the Apple Watch. Currently, sales to small and medium-sized businesses via Apple Stores are mostly handled by a small group of specialized employees. Ahrendts says that she wants all employees to “own” business sales in order to provide a better experience to business customers.
Last week, we reported that Apple is preparing to launch a couple of significant changes for Apple Retail stores this upcoming Wednesday. Besides demoting iPods to the accessory shelves on the sides of Apple Stores, Apple will be removing the long-existing iPad-based Smart Signs. These are the iPads that sit alongside iPhones, iPads, and Macs in the stores explaining pricing and other pertinent information. Now, we’ve gathered a few more details. First, sources say that this will be a change across all Apple Stores across the globe, not just stores in the United States. More significantly, we now know what will replace the Smart Sign functionality: new dedicated pricing apps on both in-store Macs and iOS devices…
Apple is continuing to transition its three main retail outlets, its physical retail stores, online store, and main website, into a single experience. Following the deep integration of the Apple Online Store throughout Apple.com, Apple is set to integrate its appointment scheduling services for the Genius Bar and in-store workshops deeply into the main website, according to sources briefed on the plans. The latest indications are that Apple will roll out these significant retail changes as soon as Tuesday, August 25th.
Apple is preparing to make significant changes to its stores to simplify the experience by relocating iPod stock to accessory shelves and removing iPad-based Smart Signs, according to several Apple Retail managers briefed today on the plans. Apple will begin rolling out these notable changes overnight on Tuesday of next week to stores in the United States so that customers who begin coming in on Wednesday see the refreshed look.
Tim Cook tweeted his thanks today to the “thousands of Hong Kong customers” who attended the opening of the company’s fourth Apple Store in Hong Kong.
Plans for the store were first announced in 2013, with construction photos first seen in February. Apple announced the opening date on its website a couple of weeks ago. The additional store is part of Apple’s ambitious expansion program in China, having so far opened six of the 25 new stores it plans to open within two years.
Photos of the new store can be seen below …
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Apple recently kicked off its ‘Back to School’ promo in the US and Canada, offering customers a free pair of Beats headphones for buying a Mac. The same deal will be rolling out internationally in various countries on either August 6th or 7th (exact date depends on country). Like those in the US and Canada, European customers will be able snag a free pair of Beats Solo2 headphones with a qualifying Mac purchase, or get €200 discount on the Beats Wireless Solo2.
According to French Mac blog Consomac, Angela Ahrendts, the company’s retail chief told employees of its wider rollout plans in a short video:
“In the US and in Canada, in our stores and online, it is the season for Back to School. Kids go back to school in these countries earlier than a lot of other countries. It Will Be launching August 6 and August 7 in additional countries, again aligned to When Your kids and your students Actually go back to school.”
It’s expected that European customers will be subject to the same purchase rules as in the States and Canada. They’ll need to buy an iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air or Mac Pro with education pricing to get the free Beats. Build-to-order configurations are eligible, but Mac Mini is excluded from the deal.
This is first year Apple has given away Beats products with its Macs for ‘Back to School’ students. Last year, a Mac purchase got you a $100 gift card, and an iPhone or iPad purchase got you a $50 gift card.
Once the deal goes live in Europe, we’ll be sure to update you. As things stand, we’re expecting the roll out to begin in just under two weeks’ time.
Apple-designed packaging for the Mophie Juice Pack and Logitech iPad Keyboard
Apple is looking to own yet another aspect of its product experience. The company is gearing up to revamp its third-party accessory selection across all of its retail stores by next week by reducing the amount of accessories available in stores to ones sold in packaging co-designed by Apple. Apple has been working with select third-party accessory makers over the past six months to redesign boxes so that the experience more closely matches the boxes of Apple’s own products…
[tweet https://twitter.com/angelaahrendts/status/609827140612132864 align=’center’]
As previously reported, the Upper East Side New York Apple Store opened today and Apple’s head of retail was on hand for the occasion. Angela Ahrendts tweeted from the event (above) and took photos with visitors (below). The store is at 940 Madison Avenue on the corner of 74th St, a block from Central Park.
We noted previously that the almost 100-year old building that Apple restored used to be a bank which included a vault that Apple turned into a VIP room for Apple Watch Edition try ons. The VIP space includes a large TV/Display, couches and other niceties (more images below).
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In addition, the decor and showcasing is unique to this location with a new kind of recessed showcase, large chandeliers and black and white artwork.
The new store will help alleviate some of the traffic that the Fifth Avenue Store loses while it relocates to the smaller FAO Schwarz location for upgrades. Not everyone is happy with the store opening. Local residents have complained that it will bring throngs of shoppers to this somewhat quiet (by Manhattan standards) upscale neighborhood. Apple has promised to open later and close earlier than other nearby stores in order to appease the neighbors.
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Many more images below:
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When Apple opens its new Upper East Side Apple Store on Saturday, visitors will have the opportunity to view historical architecture in addition to shopping for iPhones and Apple Watches. That’s because the new retail store located on 940 Madison Avenue was once the home of the U.S. Mortgage & Trust bank — there’s even a bank vault below the store — and Apple has restored much of the original design for its new showroom…
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Apple is finally preparing to start selling the Apple Watch in its retail stores after solely offering the Watch via its online store due to constrained supplies. In a private video message to retail employees today, Apple Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts and Vice President of Retail Operations Jim Bean informed retail staff that training materials for the retail launch are once again being distributed to employees…
The Apple world this morning seems divided between those who seemingly haven’t grasped the implications of Apple’s ‘promotion’ of Jony Ive, merely taking Cook’s memo at face value, and those switching into full-on ‘Apple is doomed’ mode. The reality is, I think, a little more nuanced.
It seems pretty clear that this move is, as Seth outlined earlier, about Ive taking more of a backseat role – and especially being able to spend a lot more time back in England. Apple’s decision to announce the news on a day when the US markets were closed was obviously not coincidence.
Apple didn’t want to see a knee-jerk panic reaction on Wall Street setting its stock diving. But is there reason to panic? Or is it all much ado about nothing? Or something between the two … ?
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We found out earlier this year that Apple’s new retail chief, former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts, made around $73 million in 2014 through her new position at the company. That made Ahrendts the highest paid female executive in the US last year, according to a new report from Bloomberg that puts her total earnings for 2014 somewhere closer to $82.6 million+:
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