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“At the heart of every Apple Store is the desire to educate and inspire the communities we serve,” said Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail. Apple Stores, like their products, are absolutely breath taking. Anyone who has been to an Apple store knows that while others try to sell a product, Apple sells an experience. A mesmerizing one at that. Retail is a big part of Customer experience. Know how this Minimalistic tech giant makes a world of its own in the middle of our busiest cities.
Apple has 525 stores in 26 countries and six continents as of today. Every Apple store is made of the same design language across the world but the words might be different, just how we are all humans at the heart but speaking different languages in different parts of the world. So an Apple store in NYC will be similar to the one in India at its core, but with a flavor of that Country.
Decoding Apple Stores
If you have to brief an architect to build an Apple store, what would be the core points? What is at the heart of every store experience, the minute details which make up the overall experience that thrill us all ? Let's find out.
1. Design Language : Minimalism
"Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." - Steve Jobs. Apple has always believed in the power of 'Minimalistic designs' whether it's in their products, their Stores or their Solutions.
Know more about 'Minimalism' and how it is literally what defines Apple.
2. Material used : Glass, Wood & Rock
You will find Long glass pane in each & every store, their placement might differ but this element of design is common in all. Most of the spaces are defined with no columns inside massive rooms, simple wooden tables to display the products, very spacious to move around & find what you are looking for, potted plants in wooden or rock pots neatly arranged against the glass facade. How do you recognize the store from far? Look out for the LED Logo in white. That's it, no name no boards nothing, the icon is enough.
3. Feel of the space
Clean, uncluttered spaces surrounded with natural aesthetics. The best part of the Apple experience has to be the contrast feel of their store space. Grandeur yet ground to earth. The architecture will make you fly and yet the natural surroundings will bring you back to earth.
4. The Color scheme
What creates brand recall is consistency. Consistency in the Colors of the brand. Apple knows their Color book and maintains it through out all touch points of customer experience to ensure reliability & consistency for the customer anywhere in the World. The Color of the store will be a combination of White & shades of grey, and a touch of nature through wood & plants.
5. The takeaway
You would either be holding a product in your hand that you just bought or will leave with the desire to buy one the next time you come in. That is the dream outcome of retail, isn't it? That's not it, since Apple believes in selling an experience & not a product, they have unique initiatives like 'The Genius Bar' where customers are provided support by "Geniuses" who are specially trained and certified by Apple.
'Today at Apple’ is one of the ways we’re evolving our experience to better serve local customers and entrepreneurs. We’re creating a modern-day town square, where everyone is welcome in a space where the best of Apple comes together to connect with one another, discover a new passion, or take their skill to the next level. We think it will be a fun and enlightening experience for everyone who joins.", says Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail.
India's first Apple store in Mumbai
Country's first Apple Store was inaugurated on 18th April, 2023 in Jio World Center, BKC, Mumbai. The second store is set to be inaugurated two days later in Saket, Delhi. The launch of the Apple Store coincides with the brand celebrating 25 years of its existence in India. Along with bringing more stores to India, Apple has started to shift iPhone production to the country as well, helping to decrease its reliance on China and make the iPhone more affordable for customers in India.
We had 'Imagine' in India till now which is an Apple Premium Reseller operated by Ample technologies, one of the most preferred technology solutions provider across major cities in India. Ample owns and operates multiple formats of retail across India. What we didn't have was an Apple store and now we have two.
The magnificent building features a glass exterior and a ceiling tiled with triangular pieces of timber that stretch past the building’s walls to form a canopy over the store. Apple says each tile is made from 408 pieces of timber and that there are 1,000 tiles in total. There are stone walls which have been sourced from Rajasthan and a unique 14-metre-long stainless steel staircase.
The building also has a dedicated solar array, making this particular store “one of the most energy-efficient Apple Store locations in the world.” Additionally, Apple says the location has “zero reliance” on fossil fuels for store operations and runs on “100 percent” renewable energy.
Apple is also launching yet another store in Saket, Delhi.
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