Frankly, we weren't sure what to expect when we pitched up in Brighton at the tail end of August for the opening of Apple's 21st retail store in the UK.
Of course we'd been to the opening of the first – the flagship Regent Street store in London – and had been caught up in the enthusiasm and excitement of staff and punters alike, but surely the fact that a shop is opening somewhere that already sells Apple kit is hardly something to get het up about?
Boy, were we wrong. We set off from Bath at 5:30am in order to arrive in time for a preopening press briefing with Nye Wright, the store's Manager, but when we rocked up to the new store in Brighton's Churchill Square shopping centre just after 8am, there was already a queue forming.
(And while this isn't in the same league as the camping-out-for-days-beforehand stunts that we've seen at the opening of, say, the Regent Street and Fifth Avenue stores, we were nevertheless impressed that as the store opened – and even half an hour after it did – the queue was easily a couple of hundred strong.)
Hugs and high-fives
For the traditionally reserved Brits, California-flavoured Apple events are often a little awkward.
You could never accuse an Apple Store employee of being surly or pessimistic, but it has to be said that, in the build-up to the opening – with the team inside the glass-fronted store hugging, swaying around in a ring, and high-fiving – that there were a few raised eyebrows and muttered, puzzled accusations of oddly cult-like behaviour.
The whole morning was one of an odd mix of passion and confusion; most of the folks in the queue, by dint of their very presence, would probably say they were hardcore Apple fans, and they were rightly excited about the opening.
And yet for the rest of the world there in Brighton that day, the whole event was anathema. When people learned that the whoopin' and a-hollerin' that accompanied the doors opening marked nothing more than a store opening – and, worse, that the little boxes being given out to the first few through the doors contained not 'free iPhones' as the rumour was but mere T-shirts – we were treated to the full gamut of emotions from bafflement to scorn by way of pity.
Just before the doors opened – after being given their final pep talk by the Store Manager – all the T-shirted employees broke out of the store and did a lap of honour around the top level of Churchill Square, high-fiving all the folks in the queue.
THE BOSS: Nye Wright, the store's Manager, is American, but tells us he loves Brighton
And when the doors did open after an excited countdown, the staff, lined up inside the store on either side of the door, applauded wildly and high-fived the folks in the queue as they streamed into the shop. And for many this was no mere pilgrimage; within minutes of the store opening, people were walking out carrying iMacs, MacBooks and more.
Some told us they'd wanted to buy a Mac but had been waiting until Apple opened a store nearby.
Your comments (14) Click to add a new comment
nitebot
November 2nd
14. Were there lots of pretty girls there?!
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lovlid
November 2nd
13. "Why the big deal? Well, it's about Apple's attitude toward its customers and its employees, and the relationship it wants to create between them. We were encouraged to 'surprise and delight'. Believe me, I've worked in retail before and I never heard anything remotely similar anywhere else. I started with Apple when the number of stores was in the single digits, and I spent five years there. It was a wonderful experience, and I'm just as charged about Apple now as I was then and before. They have no equal."
Time for that shower.
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macspirit
November 2nd
12. Why the big deal? Well, it's about Apple's attitude toward its customers and its employees, and the relationship it wants to create between them. We were encouraged to 'surprise and delight'. Believe me, I've worked in retail before and I never heard anything remotely similar anywhere else. I started with Apple when the number of stores was in the single digits, and I spent five years there. It was a wonderful experience, and I'm just as charged about Apple now as I was then and before. They have no equal.
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a.n.other
November 1st
11. QUOTE: "it has to be said that, in the build-up to the opening – with the team inside the glass-fronted store hugging, swaying around in a ring, and high-fiving – that there were a few raised eyebrows and muttered, puzzled accusations of oddly cult-like behaviour."
Well, I'm an American, but that stuff creeps me out, too. Love the stores, though...
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studentrights
October 31st
10. pete_I@ "Once you get past the glitz and superficial, shiny packaging it's just another shop selling a brand. While they might start with a lot of hype, the test will be to see if they're still so upbeat on a rainy thursday in February, when there hasn't been a single buying customer since the weekend - and the bills need paying."
This has already been disproven now that Apple has over 276 stores world-wide; still growing, while raking in 9 Billion in profits last quarter.
They now make 3/4 the revenue of Microsoft; 9.87 vs. 12.37 last quarter with 30 Billion in cash debt-free. In market value they are only second to Microsoft and worth 6 times what Dell is while also being ahead Google, IBM, HP and just about any technology company out there.
Apple doesn't just sell a brand like Dell or HP, they build and sell an entire computer electronics experience; (phone, internet browser, game/music/video player, GPS unit), along with integrated computer hardware and software. Show me a PC carved from a single block of aluminum with a multi-gesture trackpad, magnetic power connector and a custom operating system to run it? Sorry Macs only. The integration, easy of use, and innovation packed into each product puts them above the rest.
Or when you said, "glitz and superficial, shiny packaging it's just another shop selling a brand" were you talking about cars, shoes, clothes, furniture or just about any other consumer item? Tell me you don't care how your car looks when you buy it or about comfort and easy of use.
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studentrights
October 31st
9. pete_I@ "Once you get past the glitz and superficial, shiny packaging it's just another shop selling a brand. While they might start with a lot of hype, the test will be to see if they're still so upbeat on a rainy thursday in February, when there hasn't been a single buying customer since the weekend - and the bills need paying."
The has already been disproven now that Apple has over 276 stores world-wide, still growing and while ranking in 9 Billion in profits last quarter.
They now make 3/4 the revenue of Microsoft; 9.87 vs. 12.37. With 30 Billion in cash debt free. In market value they are only second to Microsoft and worth 6 times what Dell is while also being ahead Google, IBM, HP and just about any technology company out there.
Apple doesn't just sell a brand like Dell or HP, they build and sell an entire computer electronics experience; phone, game/music/video player, GPS unit, along with integrated computer hardware and software. Show me a PC carved some a single block of aluminum with a multi-gesture trackpad, magnetic power connector and a custom operating system to run it? Sorry Macs only. The integration, easy of use and innovation packed into each product put them above the rest.
Or when you said, "glitz and superficial, shiny packaging it's just another shop selling a brand" were you talking about cars, shoes, clothes, furniture or just about any other consumer item? Tell me you don't care how your car looks when you buy it or about comfort and easy of use.
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