Apple design chief Jony Ive and retail head Angela Ahrendts are working together on a redesign of Apple's retail stores — a different approach that will make them better suited for selling the fashionable Apple Watch, according to a new report. [...]
And while Apple Stores are known for their carpet-less floors, Ive did tell Parker that he overheard someone say they wouldn't buy a watch from a store if they weren't standing on carpet.
— appleinsider.com
3 Comments
Gotta get read for the stampede of sheeple.
Apple stores were designed for way fewer customers than they currently handle. What was once a boutique-style experience with one-on-one service has given way to huge crowds and soviet-style lines for service and repair. I'm amused how the New Yorker article has spawned a kazillion design rumor stories.
Everything about that brief article makes me queasy.
thisisnotmyname, I totally agree that Apple stores can't handle the crowds they draw. The pristine organization of the interior and fittings is completely obliterated by hordes of angry,confused customers and their vacant-eyed kids playing with endless ipads on leashes.
I despise going to the Apple store. Whenever my computers have broken over the last ten years my first wave of panic has not been over lost data or expensive repairs, it's been at the thought of having to go to the Genius Bar (a wonderful idea in theory) in the crowded chaos of the store. It's worse than flying cross country on Southwest, I swear.
But a VIP section in there is *only* going to make it worse. It adds a whole new level of resentment and frustration to what is already a horrible experience. I love the look of the Apple stores, I love that they've celebrated design excellence and pushing technological limits in their stores (with credit going to BCJ Architects, of course), but the real-time physical experience is a nightmare.
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