Dive Brief:
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Ahead of its Sept. 7 iPhone 7 launch, Apple held an all-hands meeting, where the company announced in-store changes, MacRumors reports, including a newly edited “credo.”
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Three new store positions in the U.S. and the U.K. (and MacRumors speculates elsewhere) include “Pro,” with more expertise in products and services than the current “Expert” position, and “Creative Pro,” similarly a position above “Creative,” with even more expertise in products and services. New “Technical Experts,” with training and duties in between the current “Technical Specialist” and Genius, will be able to perform mobile repairs that were previously left only to “Geniuses.” Existing positions are also being renamed.
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The company now has 30 retail locations designed with its new store layout, which have a combination of what it calls The Avenue (where customers can browse and stroll), The Forum (for seminars), Genius Grove (a Genius Bar with trees) and The Boardroom (for training).
Dive Insight:
MacRumors describes Apple’s all-hands meeting with its retail employees as major changes — which all seem aimed at improving customer service at its stores (which the company officially stopped calling stores last week in an effort to appeal as more of an experiential service).
Apple’s stores have long stood out, with clean, well lit spaces and a knowledgeable, helpful staff. In fact, Apple stores kick up sales by 10% in the malls where they’re located, according to research last year by real estate company Green Street Advisors.
In April the company reported its first decline in quarterly revenue in 13 years, largely on falling sales of its signature iPhone in a saturated smartphone market that increasingly includes high-quality phones price lower than Apple’s.
Retail workers have long had a credo, which MacRumors notes reflects Apple’s mission to help people become their best selves.
“We are here to enrich lives. / To help dreamers become doers, / to help passion expand human potential, / to do the best work of our lives,” the new credo reads in part, according to MacRumors. “We give more than we take / From the planet, / to the person beside us. / We become a place to belong / where everyone is welcome. / Everyone.”
