Apple's latest Chinese store adopts Apple Tysons US redesign

Apple MixC Wenzhou in China has opened and demonstrates just how the company's finely-honed retail operation is, with its interior practically indistinguishable from Apple Tysons Corner in the US.

Tysons Corner was the first-ever Apple Store in 2001, and a revamped version remains close to its original site all these years later. Back when Steve Jobs was unveiling the first stores, they all had very similar designs, yet that has changed substantially.

Now Apple will work to preserve historic buildings that it puts stores into, such as England's Covent Garden and Birmingham sites. And it will adopt striking new architecture, as it as in Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Its very latest store, though, is a throwback to the old similar-if-not-identical model. Apple MixC Wenzhou in southern China is the first in the country to present a Tysons Corner-like interior.

Michael Steeber blogs about Apple Stores and has famously created virtual recreations of famous ones, including Tysons Corner. He says that Apple MixC Wenzhou is an example of the future of Apple Stores.

"We're beginning to see how the future might shape up," he writes in a blog post. "Apple Tysons Corner and MixC Wenzhou are largely identical."

"Push a few walls around, and you can imagine either space," he continues. "There's one fewer Avenue in Wenzhou, and the Apple Pickup counter and Genius Bar are both smaller."

Spot the difference: inside Tysons Corner store in the US (Source: Apple)

There are other minor differences caused by the position and the shape of the new store. So it's more angled than Tyson Corner, and there's an extra row of tables.

Steeber also notes that the Apple Watch tables have brown try-on mats. These are the same appearance and color as most stores' current leather mats, but they are not made from leather.

"Apple has comprehensively redesigned its stores just three times in the past 22 years, and each time the result was a smash hit," he continues. "Most companies wouldn't touch a machine running that well."

It would be a shame if Apple abandoned its historic building preservation, or its support for new architectural designs. But for stores within malls, such as Apple MixC Wenzhou, the new Tysons Corner model appears to be working well.

Store blogger Steeber's latest work includes an app to let users design their own sales displays, in the form of an Apple Store wall fixture.