Neil Hughes
Apple design chief Jony Ive and retail head Angela Ahrendts are working together on a redesign of Apple's retail stores — Â a different approach that will make them better suited for selling the fashionable Apple Watch, according to a new report.
Details on the collaboration between Ive and Ahrendts were revealed in a new profile on Ive published by The New Yorker. In it, author Ian Parker notes that the two Apple executives are working on an unannounced redesign of Apple Stores.
"The new spaces will surely become a more natural setting for vitrines filled with gold (and perhaps less welcoming, at least in some corners, to tourists and truants)," Parker wrote.
And while Apple Stores are known for their carpet-less floors, Ive did tell Parker that he overheard someone say they wouldn't buy a watch from a store if they weren't standing on carpet.
In the piece, Parker refers to the Apple Watch section of the store as a potential "V.I.P. area," though it's unclear just how much different Ahrendts and Ive believe the stores need to be.
The details reaffirm a separate report from earlier this month, which said that Ahrendts is spearheading major physical changes for Apple's retail stores. Some changes, such as new seating areas, are expected to be implemented before the launch of the Apple Watch in April.
Ive's involvement with anticipated Apple Store changes underscores the important role the designer now plays in virtually all facets of the company. Ive was given greater responsibility at Apple in 2012 as part of an executive shakeup — Â one that put him in charge of design of both hardware and software in future products.
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59 Comments
I'm guessing they have ways of trying them on your wrist that are new and very creative. My mind runs to ideas such as the use of the kind of perspex box used in a clean room where you put your arm through an airtight cuff. Or perhaps holographic projections, although that wouldn't allow you to feel the weight. edit: typo
I thought the Apple Stores usually used the stone from Italy, not the hardwood. Watch buying is usually a quiet experience, something the Apple Store is not.
Keep the hardwood floors Apple is Apple and could be whatever they want. They don't have to pretend to be a jewelry store. Think different. I don't like the "V.I.P." idea. The entire store should be fluid.
I'm thinking a glass walled 'booth' on one wall, specially lit crystal cabinets of watches in various colours/strap combinations, a few open displayed demo watches and with a carpeted seating area - a mini jewellers essentially, perhaps with other personal accessories. The glass wall would keep the openness of the store but cut out a fair amount of noise.
Having a store within a store is still a half-hearted measure. It's akin to having to wade through the racket of HMV before reaching the classical music section. If Apple are serious about portraying the Apple Watch as a luxury item, they have to build their own retail stores for it, or offer it in high-end jewellers.