Apple’s retail guru Angela Ahrendts took to the stage at Fast Company‘s ongoing Innovation Festival to talk her role as senior vice president for retail and online stores.
With the highest sales-per-square-foot of any U.S. retailer, the Apple Stores were hardly in need of a total overhaul, but Ahrendts nonetheless discussed the ways she’s trying to tweak the physical shopping experience for the better — with some fascinating insights.
Apple won’t have to stump up the cash for back-paying thousands of current and former employees at Apple Stores across California, according to the ruling of a federal judge.
The lawsuit was brought against Apple in 2013 by two former retail employees — claiming that Apple’s policy of mandatory bag searches after work had cost them dozens of hours of unpaid wages, totalling around $1,500 per year.
It’s been years since Apple got rid of CD drives in Macs, but apparently Adele didn’t get the memo. That’s all we can conclude from a new report, claiming that the team behind the gazillion album-selling songstress tried — and failed — to persuade Apple to sell physical CD copies of her upcoming album, 25, in Apple Stores.
Because, you know, it’s not like the company has a new streaming music service it’s focused on selling people on or anything!
In advance of the opening of Apple’s massive 50,000-square-foot retail space at the Mall of the Emirates this Thursday, Gulf Business has gotten a sneak preview of the company’s debut United Arab Emirates store — showing a leafy open-plan oasis carrying the new Jony Ive-designed Apple Store interior.
Check out more pictures below.
Microsoft officially opened its flagship store on NYC’s historic Fifth Avenue today just blocks away from Apple’s iconic glass cube, and it’s taken a few pages from the iPhone-maker’s playbook in the process.
The doors to Microsoft’s new store opened just in time for the release of the new Surface Book and Surface Pro 4, but Microsoft says it’s totally cool if Apple fans bring in their devices too.
“If you bring your iPhone in here, I’d love to show you how to use Office on it,” said Kelly Soligon, senior director of retail stores marketing at Microsoft. There are signs of Apple’s influence throughout the store through, from the giant glass facade to the glass staircase.
Take a look inside:
Apple is set to open its debut brick-and-mortar retail store in Singapore, according to a message sent out by health and exercise chain Pure Fitness.
In a message directed at patrons, Pure Fitness revealed that it is one of several tenants closing their premises in Singapore’s upscale retail building Knightsbridge, “to make way for the opening of Singapore’s first Apple store [sic] later in 2016.”
Apple is opening yet another major brick-and-mortar Apple retail store in China this weekend. But according to a new report, the company’s retail assault on China is linked with a more negative factor: weaker than expected online sales.
Apple is continuing its Chinese Apple Store expansion by announcing the opening of its 21st Chinese retail store in the city of Dalian, China.
A port city known for its clean air, good food, and luxurious shopping, Dalian attracts visitors from China, Japan, and Korea. In other words, it’s the perfect location for a new Apple Store — which is why it’s no surprise that it will be among the biggest Apple brick-and-mortar retail outlets in the world.
Apple lost its biggest fan ever this week. Gary Allen, creator of the beloved ifo Apple Store blog, died Sunday at the age of 67 after battling brain cancer.
Allen was one of the most respected voices in the Apple community when it came to the company’s retail presence worldwide, and often made long trips to Apple Store openings across the globe. He attended more than 140 openings, and knew more about Apple Stores than any other outsider — insight he gladly shared with fans on his now-defunct blog.
India is finally getting its own official Apple Stores, thanks to a partnership with local consumer electronics chain Croma.
The six new retail stores will be opened inside existing Croma stores in India, much like the store-in-a-store model used by Apple during the 1990s. Despite this, they will feature the familiar Apple Store look and feel, and be manned by staff trained by Apple.
The United Arab Emirates hasn’t even gotten its first Apple Store yet, but that hasn’t stopped Apple from ranking no. 1 in a list of the “Top 10 Most Intimate Brands in the UAE.”
In doing so, it didn’t just beat tech rival brands like Samsung and Google, but also auto-makers Lexus and Mercedes, chain coffee shop Starbucks, and a variety of others.
Never let it be said that Apple doesn’t source some gorgeous buildings for its retail stores!
According to a new report, Apple is said to have agreed terms to take over an historic Grade II listed building in the U.K.’s second biggest city, Birmingham.
And, despite it not being announced yet, the news is already generating excitement among fellow local retailers.
After the opening of the redesigned, tree-filled Apple Store in Brussels, Apple’s flagship Regent Street store in London is the next to get the Jony Ive treatment.
Working with Foster & Partners, the architectural firm responsible for the Gherkin skyscraper, Apple’s plans call for it to transform what it refers to as the “tired and outdated” look of the Regent Street Apple Store — even removing the instantly-recognizable four giant Apple logos outside the store entrance.
When you’re lining up for a brand new iPhone on launch day, the last thing you expect to see outside the Apple Store is a whole team of people from Samsung. But that’s exactly what iPhone 6s buyers in London were greeted by this morning.
Samsung sent a flock of people to gatecrash the iPhone 6s launch at the Apple Store on Regent Street to promote the Galaxy S6 edge and S6 edge+, and to hand out free goodies bearing Samsung’s “#NextisNew” slogan.
We figured tonight’s iPhone 6s launch would draw some crowds, and sure enough, they are. Fans all over the world are lining up to be the first to get their hands on Apple’s latest hardware, and we have the pictures to prove it, starting with that massive batch of Hamburgers above.
Here are crowds outside of Apple Stores from across the globe.
Despite being sold out online, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will be available for walk-in purchase on September 25th, except for customers in five unlucky states.
Apple revealed in a press press release that customers in Hong Kong, China, Japan and five U.S.states won’t be able to walk-in to a local Apple Store at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, September 25th to buy the best iPhone Apple’ ever created.
Here are the five states that won’t sell you an iPhone on launch day:
For the first time ever, Apple fans will soon be able to buy an Apple device directly from the company’s Cupertino headquarters.
Apple’s Company Store at 1 Infinite Loop is set to reopen this weekend, and along with selling special products like shirts, jackets, mugs, pens, the Company Store will now stock iPhones, iPads, and Macs for visitors to purchase.
We know Jony Ive can design computers large and small. So why not the space where the devices are sold?
The world caught a glimpse of a new Ive-designed Apple Store in Brussels this week and the common theme seems to be: wood.
Apple’s official Company Store at One Infinite Loop is set to reopen this Saturday, September 19. The store has been closed for renovations since June 15.
Tim Cook made a surprise appearance today at the Fifth Ave Apple Store in NYC ahead of his appearance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert tomorrow night.
During his visit, Cook mingled with the customers, took selfies, and photobombed Eddy Cue before getting swarmed by a mob of fans anxious to get a close-up with the Apple CEO. Buzzfeed created a Snapchat story of the CEO’s visit which wasn’t announced to fans or employees before he dropped in for some quality times with customers.
Here are a few highlights from Cook’s NYC debut:
Comic books are considered an important part of Belgian culture. So it seemed only fitting that one of the biggest icons in pop culture, Apple, would team up with comic artists for the opening of the first-ever Apple store in Brussels.
Apple released a two-minute video over the weekend on its YouTube channel to show off the artists behind the marketing to announce the store’s opening, set for Saturday.
If you haven’t already pre-ordered your new iPhone 6s, you’ve still got a great chance of getting one on launch day — unless you want a Rose Gold model.
The new color option has become the first to sell out completely in many markets, but the Silver, Gold, and Space Gray are still widely available for delivery and personal pickup on Friday, September 25.
Former NBA player Rex Chapman pleaded guilty to four counts of felony theft this week. He was arrested for not only stealing over $15,000 worth of Apple gear from the store in Scottsdale, Arizona, but also for selling it at local pawn shops.
Chapman allegedly pretended to use the Apple Store’s self-checkout system, leaving without actually paying for the items.
Apple fans can’t purchase the iPhone 6s, Apple TV, or iPad Pro that were unveiled yesterday, but if you’re lucky you can pick up the cheap gold Apple Watch Sport today, now that Apple Stores have received limited supplies of new units.
Cult of Mac got an early look at the new gold finish thanks to a reader who already scooped up a 42mm gold Apple Watch Sport at the Apple Store in Gilbert, Arizona, and while the new model is way cheaper than its expensive Edition sibling, it still looks like a million bucks.
Take a closer look:
The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus haven’t even been announced yet, but already an Australian man is camping out in front of Sydney’s Apple Store with the aim of being the first person in the world to buy Apple’s next-gen handset.
And, weirdly enough, he doesn’t claim to be a particularly big Apple fan.