The retail sector is in trouble — with almost 10,000 stores in the U.S. having closed their doors in the U.S. since 2017. Apple’s solution? Make shopping into an experience for customers, rather than just a place to spend money.
That’s the theory laid out by Apple’s retail VP Angela Ahrendts in a new interview for Vogue Business. In it, Ahrendts lays out her Apple Store philosophies as pertain to both customers and employees. It certainly seems to be working!
If you think your rent is expensive you might want to spare a thought for the amount Apple pays for its spectacular waterfront flagship store in Chicago.
Located on Chicago’s iconic “Magnificent Mile,” the iconic glass Apple Store with the MacBook-inspired roof costs Apple a massive $2.5 million in rent each year — and prices go up 10 percent every five years.
An Ohio man is contemplating legal action against Apple after his 3-week-old iPhone XS Max allegedly exploded in his pocket.
J. Hillard reports that his iPhone XS Max started emitting a strange smell before he felt a “large amount of heat” in his pocket. He eventually got a new device from Apple — as well as burns on his buttocks.
2018 has been one of the best years ever for Apple. Looking at some of the company’s most popular metric shows that the numbers are up across the board (stock price excepted).
Never before have there been more developers making more money off iOS while Apple extends its ever-growing reach. Revenue hit an all-time high. And the next big thing feels like it’s just on the horizon.
Here’s Apple’s 2018 by the numbers.
If you’ve ever considered breaking into an Apple Store with a U-Haul truck, don’t bother: it won’t work.
A couple of guys tried it in Berkeley, California last night and got away with exactly no Apple merchandise.
The Apple Store in Atlanta’s Lenox Mall is apparently getting a big upgrade.
An illustration of a new store coming to this high-end mall has surfaced, and while it doesn’t yet have an Apple logo, the company’s familiar design is very much in evidence.
Apple’s Bordeaux retail store in France was raided over the weekend as continued anti-government protests raged.
In a clip widely shared on Twitter, looters entered the Apple Sainte-Catherine store on Saturday night. They proceeded to pull MacBooks, iPhones and other items off the shelves and tables. Some of those involved with the incident were wearing the yellow vests associated with the riots.
Steve Jobs’ hands-on approach to just about every project at Apple is part of his legend.
Ron Johnson, Apple’s first head of retail, offers fascinating detail about Jobs and the work leading up to the first Apple Store during a recent episode of the Gimlet podcast Without Fail hosted by Andy Blumberg.
Jobs was demanding and described by many as often difficult to work with. But Johnson says working with Jobs was a “gift.”
Apple has finally started selling its first official iPhone XR case, more than a month after the handset made its debut.
The Clear Case, which leaked out in October, is made with a “blend of optically clear polycarbonate and flexible TPU materials” so that you can enjoy your iPhone XR’s design while keeping it protected.
Anyone who frequents Apple retail stores knows they can always count on knowledgeable and sympathetic help from an employee. One might assume that Apple retains such people with high salaries. Nope.
Instead, the Geniuses — as some employees of Apple Stores are famously called — work there because they are a select few who believe they are helping customers by selling them Macs, iPhones, etc.
Buying a new iPhone XS just got a lot more affordable for anyone that has served is or is currently surviving in the U.S. Military.
Apple revealed today that it has launched a new website that gives a 10% discount to vets and active military members that the company says is an expression of its gratitude for service.
Apple’s proposed flagship Apple Store in Melbourne, Australia’s Federation Square has been pushed back at least a year. Work was originally scheduled to start in early 2019. However, now it won’t begin until 2020 — with the eventual opening taking place in 2021.
If it even happens at all, that is.
Apple is offering students in the U.K. the chance to learn more about coding, engineering and design — courtesy of Field Trip events as part of the UK’s government’s “Year of Engineering.”
The events offer around 1,700 students, aged 5 to 18, the chance to go “behind the scenes” at Apple Stores around the country. Apple is running around 100 of these Field Trip events, during which students will shown how to create various digital projects. These relate to topics from coding to the solar system.
Apple’s Champs-Élysées retail store opens this Sunday, and from the look of some pictures Apple has released, it may be the most spectacular Apple Store yet.
The store eschews the glass and modernism of the company’s newly built stores for vintage grandeur, mixed with a few high tech flourishes. It is housed in a Haussmann-era apartment building, dating back to the 1800s. Check out some images of the new retail space below.
For the next month, you have a lot longer to return items purchased from the online Apple Store. This is intended to allow shoppers to buy holiday gifts now and not have to worry about returns until January.
Holiday shoppers should also be aware that Apple offers free two-day delivery on items bought through its website. Returns are always free.
Paris’ new flagship Apple Store finally got an official opening day: the retail location on the iconic Champs-Élysées will open its doors next Sunday.
In addition to offering iPhones, Mac, and more to the public, this building will serve as Apple headquarters in France.
One of the most popular countries in South East Asia for American tourists is finally getting its first Apple store.
Apple is set to open the doors of its Bangkok store in Thailand on Saturday, offering Apple’s first-ever official sales channel in the country for the iPhone XS, XS Max, XR and the Apple Watch Series 4. Ahead of the launch, Apple shared a few shots of the interior and it looks both simple and grand.
Apple chooses some spectacular, historic locations for its Apple Stores — but those spaces don’t always want to be home to trendy retail stores selling expensive smartphones.
In Stockholm, Sweden, the new government has announced that it will block plans for an Apple Store in the Kungsträdgården park. While it welcomes Apple’s arrival in the city, it says that “Kungsträdgården is the wrong place.”
Over the past several years, new Apple Stores have been opening all over China — but the bloom might be off the rose.
According to a new report, Apple’s Chinese retail stores have been struggling with slowing growth. Despite recently opening its 50th store in greater China, Apple is facing challenges on a number of fronts. And they’re causing it to rethink its strategy as a result.
Apple has confirmed that its first retail store in Thailand will open next month in Bangkok — and it looks absolutely spectacular. If Apple’s goal was to make a strong impression from day one, we can safely say this: Mission accomplished.
The new store is part of the ambitious Iconsiam complex on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. Along with Apple’s debut retail store in the country, Iconsiam is home to two shopping malls, a department store, 3,000-seat auditorium, amusement park, fitness center, and residential buildings.
Preorders for the iPhone XR start tomorrow at 12:01 a.m. Pacific. If you want to be sure of getting a new handset — in the color you really want — on day one, you probably need to be quick with your preorder. If not, you could be faced with waiting for Apple to fill the backlog of orders before you finally get a new iPhone sometime near Christmas.
Luckily, we have a guide that will help you preorder your iPhone XR the right way when on October 19.
We may well have confirmation of the opening of the first Apple Store in Thailand, thanks to an image shared on social media. While it doesn’t reveal the retail store in all its completed grandeur, it does show a building with recognizable glass exterior and, of course, that all-important logo.
Customers at the Apple store in Washington D.C. we’re taken by surprise this afternoon by an impromptu keynote hosted by Kanye West.
After telling Trump this morning that Apple should make the president an iPlane, West apparently went to a nearby Apple store and asked if he could hold a keynote on top of iPhone and iPad display tables.
The entire scene looks amazingly bizarre:
Police may have arrested those responsible for the recent spate of Apple Store organized thefts across California, but that’s unfortunately not the end of people targeting Apple Stores for robberies.
In Virginia Beach, VA, police are looking to identify two women accused of stealing more than $6,000 worth of Apple devices over a single weekend. The main devices stolen were Apple Watches.
Police might have cracked the crime ring behind the spate of snatch-and-grab robberies in Apple Stores across California, but Apple’s taking no chances. According to a new report, it has contracted local police departments to bring officers in as extra security in some of its stores.
Specifically, the report notes that Apple is doing this in Sacramento. However, we wouldn’t be surprised if Apple followed a similar strategy in other locations which have been the target of criminals.