Apple Retail

The iPhone SE may be Apple’s most muted iPhone launch in recent memory due to the fact that it’s not considered a flagship model for the company, but new data shows the 4-inch iPhone is attracting a large number of users in two of Apple’s most promising emerging markets: China and India.

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The giant screens that form part of the new Apple Store design created by Jony Ive reportedly cost $1.5M each.

We got out first look at the screens at the opening of the Brussels store in Belgium, as well as a tour of a mockup in December. We reported last September that Memphis would be one of the first U.S. stores to get the new design, and that store finally opened at the weekend at 2031 West Street in Germantown – but Albany Crossgates, NY, got there first earlier this year …

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At a time when Apple has just launched its cheapest ever iPhone, and when Phil Schiller caused a few raised eyebrows over what some interpreted as an elitist remark, Apple seems to be aiming for a more egalitarian image where the Apple Watch is concerned.

Apple has quietly revamped the Apple Watch section of its website, rendering the Edition almost invisible unless you specifically go looking for it. In addition, we’re hearing reports that Apple’s most expensive Watch is also being removed from some retail store displays …

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The title of the world’s largest Apple Store has moved around the world a few times, but the location Apple announced four years ago as its biggest flagship store opens on Saturday in Dalian, China. The store is in the spectacular-looking Olympia 66 shopping mall at 66 Wusi Lu in the Xigang District of the popular tourist city.

You can see more photos of the mall below …

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While Apple has not yet officially announced that it will open up a store in the World Trade Center’s new transportation hub in New York City, there have been reports that such a store has been in the plans for the past two years. Today, a source who has been inside of the yet-to-be-opened Oculus shopping section of the hub has sent us photo evidence that Apple is preparing to open up a store in the shopping area. Above is a photo from this week showing the space for the store, but formal construction has not yet begun, according to the source.

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Mark Gurman revealed on Friday that Apple has introduced a new reward program designed to boost iPhone sales in Apple Stores.

The program’s goal is to push Apple retail employees to sell more iPhones by promising rewards and all-expense paid vacations to Cupertino, California to employees who sell the most iPhones in their region, according to sources.

I do, of course, recognize the pressure Apple is under following flat iPhone sales last quarter and the company warning that its revenue will this quarter see its first ever year-on-year decline since 2003. But Tim Cook has himself repeatedly claimed that Apple focuses on making great products rather than sales numbers, repeating this line earlier this month.

Offering staff incentives to push iPhone sales strikes me as a mistake with the potential to damage the company’s image …

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Apple is readying a pair of notable improvements for Apple Store Genius Bars to be rolled out over the next couple of months, according to sources. Currently, Apple Stores allocate a fixed amount of time to each customer per Genius Bar appointment: 10 minutes for iOS devices and 15 minutes for Macs. If a customer’s issue requires more than that time amount, the customer is typically asked to book a successive appointment.

Apple has relied on this system in order to fit in as many Genius Bar appointments per day at each store and maintain a uniform experience. However, Apple has realized that not all technical support problems are the same and is preparing to officially allow for longer Genius Bar appointments.

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In an effort to keep up iPhone numbers ahead of a quarter in which Apple expects sales to drop year-over-year for the first time, Apple will encourage Apple Store employees to sell more iPhones through a new rewards program. Apple informed retail staff of the new program today, and it will take place between February 21st and March 26th, according to sources.

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One of the best parts about Apple Stores is the ability to try out Apple products out of the box in an environment superior to big box retail stores. While that’s mostly true of almost all Apple products including Apple Watches, there’s one really compelling Apple product that I haven’t seen on demo at any Apple Stores: CarPlay.

If you want to try out CarPlay for yourself right now before spending some serious money, the easiest way is to find a car dealer with a CarPlay model available and go for a test drive. But there are a few ways Apple could bring most of the experience to customers in its retail stores …

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Apple is set to open its largest Florida-based Apple Store yet in Greater Downtown Miami, according to a new report. Sources close to The Real Deal and South Florida Business Journal have confirmed that Apple has signed a lease with Miami’s new Brickell City Centre to open the new retail location.

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Earlier today we reported that Apple was partnering with one screen protector company, likely Belkin, to offer professional installations of screen protectors done by machines. Now, a report from MacOtakara says that Apple has started rolling out its screen protector installation service in Japan and that it has in fact partnered with Belkin to do so, just as we reported this morning.

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Apple is gearing up to launch a pair of new retail initiatives centered around the iPhone: an upgraded iPhone trade-in program for iPhones with damaged screens, cameras, or buttons, and a new program that allows Apple Retail Stores to install screen protectors on iPhones.

The Apple Store Reuse and Recycle iPhone trade-in program currently allows a customer to bring in an older iPhone model and trade it in for credit toward the purchase of a new iPhone model. The main exception since the launch of the program is that this does not apply toward older iPhones with cracked displays, or broken cameras and buttons. That’s about to change …

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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.

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At its current rate of expansion, Apple could conceivably hit its October goal of 40 retail stores in China within a couple of months. The company has just announced that its 33rd Apple Store in China will open on 31st January, making it the fifth new store in the country in one month … 
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According to data from Counterpoint Research, iPhone sales in India are booming. Apple reportedly shipped 800,000 units in the December quarter to the country, up from 500,000 a year ago. Apple has been aggressively promoting their phones with substantial discounts to sustain sales, given high prices for iPhone 6s in India (via Economic Times).

Even with price cuts, that 800,000 number is composed of older iPhone models too. The report indicates that iPhone 5s was responsible for 30% of the sales numbers. About half of the 800k number are made up of iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

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French Apple news site MacGeneration today reports that Apple is soon planning to open a new flagship retail store in Paris, France, citing French newspaper Le Figaro. The report claims that Apple has secured a lease for a 20,341-square-feet seven story building at 114 Avenue des Champs-Élysées. The company plans to operate a retail store on the lower levels of the building, while the upper levels will be reserved for office space.

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Apple is looking very comfortably on-track for its goal of 40 retail stores in China by October as it has announced that two more stores will open this month. That will bring the total in China to 32, four of them opening this month alone …

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