An afternoon personal trip to the San Francisco retail store did not confirm reports that Apple is disappointed that visitor traffic hasn’t translated into more revenues. The Internet café was always filled (news browsing, e-mail and on-line games), almost all the demo computers were being test-driven by guests, and the theater had a healthy crowd watching a demo. Perhaps Apple set its expectations too high, or maybe the notorious lack of (cheap) downtown SF parking is keeping the credit cards away. I did notice that the store has an excellent stock of music-related software and hardware products, much broader selection than standard-sized stores.
Just 84 steps away from the San Francisco retail store, the basement-level CompUSA Macintosh sales floor is bright, well-organized, and populated with customers asking about laptops. The store features an upstairs laptop Internet café, and also has lots of iPods and accessories, raising the question– why aren’t these people up the street at Apple’s own store? Perhaps they don’t realize it’s there.
Inside the BART rapid transit tunnel next to the San Francisco Apple store, I lost count of the number iPod posters on the wall of the Powell Street station– it was well over 50.
You may recall the seedy-looking vacant lot next to the San Francisco retail store, which was covered with black material for the grand opening. Now the plywood is covered with a pattern of iPod posters.
Contacts at the retail stores say the WWDC conference keynote speech will not be broadcast to the stores, so you’ll just have to keep your eye on Apple’s Web site to learn what new products or service are introduced this coming Monday.
Tipsters say that the Jordan Creek (Iowa) store will not open when the mall holds its grand opening. Rather, the store will open in November.
Besides the UK Web site job listings, Apple has placed ads in local newspapers for personnel to staff the Regent Street store, according to MacWorld UK.
Thanks to Nathan for photos of the future Shadyside (Penn.) retail store location. It appears the interior is being cleaned out with a Bobcat while surrounded with black-painted plywood, and the store is between Rite Aid and another building.
The Straits Times newspaper has posted a story (link expired) on an Apple Centre store in Singapore. The store is 1,800 square feet, which was among the largest Asian Apple stores when it opened back in 2002. It’s interesting to learn the store had $8 million in annual revenues, and that the store strategy is exactly like back-home, U.S. stores.
Whoo-ho! A new Apple Centre store for the north beaches.. of Sydney (Australia)! The tiny, 670 square-foot store opened on Saturday at 9:45 a.m. (early!), with an 80-foot waiting line that lasted until 5:30 p.m.
The writing has pretty much been on the wall, but it’s official that Apple is phasing out its pilot computer sales program with Best Buy. The stores are blowing out the computer gear they have left, and anything not sold will be shipped back to BB warehouses for sale on BestBuy.com. The move also terminates in-store repairs on Macintosh gear. By the way, one interesting aspect of BB sales of Macintosh gear was the service plan offered with Macintosh computers– only AppleCare was offered, and not BB’s own Performance Service Plan. It’s not clear if Apple simply believed that AppleCare was superior, or if they didn’t want to give up the rather lucrative revenues that AppleCare generates.
I’ve posted a new administrative job position for a Third-Party Product Manager.
The Grove retail store renovation continues, even as one-half of the store remains open. You may recall that early stores are being retro-fitted with stone floors and wooden furniture. In this case, the rear downstairs of the store is also being renovated, with a larger break room and a change in the bathroom location. Upstairs the Genius Bar has been relocated to the front, and the enlarged and re-seated theater at the rear is still under wraps.
Newspaper reporter Paul Vaughn writes that the new Barton Creek (Tex.) retail store, "can make Apple lovers’ dreams come true."
Computer store owner Tom Santos has posted on-line an amended version of his long-running civil lawsuit, which accuses Apple of several unfair business practices, and asking for at least $7.5 million in damages. The lawsuit claims that in a June 3, 1999 e-mail message, Apple vice president of sales Mitch Mandich told dealers, “Apple does not understand retail. There are no plans to open Apple stores.” But when Apple finally did open retail stores, it told dealers the stores would only be “showrooms” and wouldn’t cannibalize sales. read more…