From Geniuses To Creatives: Here’s How Apple Makes Sure Its Stores Stand Apart
Apple Stores are famous for the Genius Bar, manned by super helpful Apple experts who solve technical issues and walk you through Apple product features.
The tech world has been abuzz with news that Apple has forayed into India with two retail stores — one in Mumbai (opened to the public on April 18) and another in New Delhi (opening on April 20). While fans are all agog at the news of an Apple Store finally coming to the country, many mainstream users might actually wonder what the fuss is about. After all, this is just another retail store by a brand, which will sell the brand's products, which are anyways being sold by other stores too. It is not as if other tech brands do not have exclusive, swank stores in India. So, what exactly is so special about Apple Stores?
As Much A Store, As A Monument
Well, at its most basic level, the Apple Store is indeed an exclusive store that showcases the products and services of a brand. But to call it a routine electronics store or an exclusive showroom would be akin to calling the Taj Mahal a nifty tomb or a Harley Davidson a bicycle with a motor.
Yes, you can make purchases from an Apple Store or even make a purchase online and pick it up from a Store, or get it delivered to an address. But above that basic retail foundation, there is a lot that is very special about an Apple Store.
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Everything about an Apple Store is designed and managed by Apple, unlike the franchise stores that we see in India.
This generally starts with appearance. Apple's obsession with design is well-known and this is visible when it comes to the design of Apple Stores, which often feature spectacular designs and the use of materials you do not normally associate with showrooms.
So much so that many Apple Stores have actually become landmarks and even tourist destinations — check the Piazza Liberty branch in Milan which has a waterfall of its own, the store in the Dubai Mall which has carbon fibre solar wings or the store in Pudong, Shanghai, which has a massive glass cylinder as its point of entry.
From what we know so far, the Apple Stores in India too will have their own special design flourishes (the entry to the Delhi store seems to be inspired by the multiple gates of the city), and well, you can be assured that there will be plenty of glass as well, given Apple's penchant for using that material in all its stores.
Super Accessible, With Genius At The Bars
The interiors of an Apple Store are very different from your run-of-the-mill showroom. Products are on display in a simple and understated layout, which is designed not only to show products at their best but also to be accessible to the differently abled.
Apple claims that accessibility is embedded into every aspect of the Stores, with display tables being placed to allow wheelchairs to navigate easily, staircases having braille on the sidebars to help the visually impaired, and portable hearing loops for those who have hearing issues.
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Apple Stores have a very strong cultural and educational side too. They are famous for the Genius Bar, manned by super helpful Apple experts who solve technical issues and walk you through Apple product features.
These are not typical technical support staff but actual geniuses who know products and services inside out. You can get an appointment at a Genius Bar to get to know your product better or even get advice on the kind of warranty you need, the apps you need to download on your phone, the accessory to pick up for your iPad and so on.
What's more, you can get all your devices set up from scratch right at the Store, with everything from transferring contacts to files to synchronizing data being done in a safe and secure manner.
Another feature of Apple Stores is ‘Today at Apple’. These are free sessions that teach you how to do more with your Apple product and range from covering basics to giving you detailed ideas for projects using professional programs and tools.
The sessions are handled by artists and creators called Apple Creatives, and often even feature local experts. There are also in-store performances by notable artists.
Not Just About The Purchases, But The Experience Too
Of course, an Apple Store is a store too. Not only will you have all officially released Apple products under one roof (with fewer chances of 'out of stock, please come later' excuses being trotted out), and some exclusive exchange and bundling offers, but from what we have heard, you are unlikely to be ever bothered by hard selling salespersons.
Indeed, those who walk into these stores are never pushed to make a purchase or even experience a product if they do not want to.
You are unlikely to get the lowest prices at an Apple Store (they stick to the official retail prices), but then a visit to an Apple Store is seldom solely made for purchases. Some have likened a visit to an Apple Store to a journey of sorts, with purchases being incidental to the whole Apple experience.
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It is an exclusive experience Apple is looking to bring to India through its official stores. How effectively it does so could well determine its future in the market.
The stores have arrived with a lot of hype. Now Apple will have to live up to it by delivering an experience uniquely tailored to the needs of the extremely diverse Indian audience, which is known to be extremely demanding.
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