An Apple a day...
19 June 2008An Apple a day....
There's no shortage of apples in English idiom: bobbing for apples, toffee apples, Apple Paltrow, poison apples, apple of my eye, et cetera, et cetera. And now there is a new Big Apple in old Sydney town. A is for Apple Store in the CBD on the
corner of George and King streets.
And what a store it is, my friends. I must say I stopped and stared at the three-storey mega-shop I walked past yesterday. Maybe I am the only one in Sydney, probably Australia, who hadn't realised where the new store was going to be. But with the
removal of the unattractive blue hoarding that has shielded that site, I finally cottoned on.
And man, what a way to introduce an Apple store to the southern hemisphere. Through the stunning 15-metre piece of laminated glass façade, you will be able to watch people checking out iPhones and Macbooks and iPods. You'll also feel sorry for the
window washer.
After reading more about the store today, I have found out a few more things:
• This is the second largest Apple store in the world after the one in Regent Street, London
• The glass slabs come from Germany, the stone floor from Italy, the brushed stainless steel walls hail from Japan, and the wooden tables are made from maple trees grown in Pennsylvania
• Trying to locate a cash register is apparently tricky, as Apple wants to make your visit an ‘experience'
• Sydney is home to Apple's 215th store
• The store cost $15 million to build
• People camped out overnight to be one of the first customers inside the shop. A few diehard fans have traveled from other states to join the queue. Some mad Apple-ites even flew from America and the UK to be at the opening. Oh my god, come on,
people! You could pay for the construction of a school in Africa for six months for the price of the return ticket!
So, while I hope the new store fulfilled the wildest dreams of the 30-odd widgets who camped out overnight, surely there are better ways to spend a Wednesday night? Can't you get the same products from basically every other electronic store in town?
I bet Dick Smith employees didn't find a sea of bodies in sleeping bags outside their front door this morning.
Each to their own, I guess, but in my book, A is for Absolutely bonkers.
Sources:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/brits-long-dash-to-new-apple-store--ba-hrefhttpwwwsmhcomauinteractive2008technologysydneyapplestoreindexhtmltourab/2008/06/19/1213770780921.html
http://www.smh.com.au/news/biztech/a-glass-act/2008/06/18/1213468485435.html
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"Oh my god, come on, people! You could pay for the construction of a school in Africa for six months for the price of the return ticket!"
Sure, but you could say that about every other person that travels for fun. Not that I would fly (or line up) myself, but if other people want to do it, good for them.
The no-register experience is actually much better than it sounds, based on my experience in New York and London stores. Fast and efficient, and you get your receipts by email.
Hey Cara each to their own. For MAC users like myself it's a breath of fresh air.
Superb marketing in action, as Seth Godin would call it, a Purple Cow. Apple are truly remarkable. Now let's ask the same question of ourselves.
I t sounds just like my new iPhone, big glass front, lots of Kool kids running around inside, but it's not really a phone.
Swindled again!