Dive Brief:
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Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts and design guru Jony Ive are working on redesigning Apple’s successful retail stores in anticipation of the company’s Watch launch, according to a profile of Ive in the Feb. 23 issue of the New Yorker magazine.
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The company’s retail stores are widely seen as an exceptional example of brick-and-mortar retail success. They were originally designed with high-end customer service in mind, but have maintained a welcoming, democratic feel.
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With the higher price of the Apple Watch putting the company in more of a luxury category, the stores must be ready to please a demanding customer, according to the article. “Ive later told me that he had overheard someone saying, ‘I’m not going to buy a watch if I can’t stand on carpet,’” writes New Yorker writer Ian Parker.
Dive Insight:
Apple isn’t confirming this report, much less providing details on any redesign. But, assuming the report is true, any time you mess with success, it’s tricky. Apple stores have wide appeal and manage to be welcoming and inclusive while maintaining higher prices and eschewing discounts.
The Apple Watch, which will be one of the more expensive wearables on the market when it goes on sale in the spring, is designed to appeal to buyers of luxury watches, who are used to what many others might consider exorbitant prices. Ahrendts and Ive must upgrade their stores to invite those big spenders in without alienating their customer base.