It was spring 2001. Apple was in an uncertain period. iTunes and the iPod were brand new and no one knew if it would be a success. Still, Apple decided to do something radical: they opened the first two Apple Stores. Later that year, another 23 stores were opened and in the years that followed many hundreds of Apple Stores worldwide. The traditional long queues were already there by day & eacute; & eacute; n.
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Two Apple Stores
It will be exactly twenty years since the first Apple Store opened to the public on 19 May 2021. In Virginia, around 500 people lined up early to be part of a slice of Apple history. They were the first to have a look in the store, which had already been extensively recommended by Steve Jobs in the video below. Over the course of the day, the queue grew to more than 1,000 people. Fortunately, security people were on hand to make sure everything went smoothly and that there were not too many people in the store at the same time. Local residents said they had never seen anything like this before.
The Apple Store in Virginia is officially the first Apple Store. The doors opened at 10:00 am local time. Tradition has it that the first customer was Chris Barylick. He had queued for six hours to be the first to look around the store. The same day, thousands of miles away in California, California. also opened an Apple Store, but due to the time difference it happened 3 hours later.
Fans can still visit Tyson's Corner Center in McLean, Virginia. But a few things have changed if you compare it to the video above. The white columns have been replaced by wooden tables and the large cupboards in the middle of the store have been moved to the walls. If you want an impression of what the store looked like at the time, you can contact Michael Steeber, who lets you walk around the store in an augmented reality animation.
The AR version of Tysons Corner on 9to5Mac.
Yet there are also similarities. You can still see the neatly arranged computers along the walls, with large posters of satisfied users above them. Tysons Corner Center is an American mall, as you often see. Opened in 1968, it consists of over 300 stores with common names such as Abercrombie and Crate & amp; Barrel. It may not seem special, but it was a conscious choice: McLean is an affluent Washington DC suburb and had one of the most luxurious shopping centers in Fairfax County, the wealthiest region in the US at the time.
None typical computer store
Four days before the store opened on May 15, Apple had officially announced the Apple Stores in the videos. Steve Jobs himself conducted the tour for the media in Virginia. They were impressed: the light wood, brushed steel and the high tables along the walls were a relief. Computer stores were known at the time as uninspired places, where gray computer cabinets were cluttered on the shelves. The Apple Store was different: it not only looked sleek and fresh, but the layout had also been smartly thought out. The space was invisibly divided into different sections, which could be recognized by large advertising photos on the wall. The enthusiastic stories in the media certainly contributed to a lot of people on the first day of sale. It is still a place of pilgrimage for Apple fans.
California: According to Apple, the first store
The store in Glendale, California, opened three hours later due to the time difference. Apple consciously chose a store on both the East and West coast. The California Apple Store looked the same and was also located in a wealthy neighborhood, this time near Los Angeles. Jobs said it was all coincidence: & ldquo; These two finished first, & rdquo ;, Jobs told the press. But it had been well thought out: there were rumors that Apple had a complex algorithm with which they could calculate exactly where wealthy citizens are. Whether that is true will always remain a secret. The fact is that Apple mainly opted for the richer neighborhoods, including the 23 other Apple Stores that opened during the same year.
Below are the first four stores, in order of opening date:
Why own Apple Stores?
Apple was known for making wanted to keep hardware and software in their own hands. Collaboration with external parties usually led to disappointment, even though Apple continued to try regularly. For example, they made the ROKR iTunes phone together with Motorola, which ultimately turned out to be a flop. Apple then decided to start making an iPhone itself.
At the Apple Stores it went in a similar way. Apple had been dealing with bad shopping experiences for a decade. They wanted to do it themselves. Jobs hired the best experts, including Millard Drexler of clothing store Gap. Then followed Ron Johnson of supermarket chain Target, who eventually became the brilliant brain behind Apple's retail empire. There was one problem, though: Jobs had stripped down Apple's lineup, leaving basically only four product groups: iMac, iBook, Power Mac G4, and PowerBook. How could he fill a gigantic store with just a few products?
Ron Johnson: the brains behind the Apple Store
Johnson & rsquo; s brilliant idea was to build on experiences around the products and solutions they could provide. By displaying the same products multiple times, customers could understand how they were useful for different applications. Visitors could also try out the products themselves. This principle is still the case: when you enter an Apple Store, the iPhones, iPads and Macs are set up in fixed places, but in the showcases along the walls you can see applications such as sports, music and creativity, with accompanying accessories. You can try it yourself without having to wait for an employee.
Apple wrote in a 2001 press release:
Knowledgeable salespeople will be able to demonstrate Macs & reg; running innovative applications like iTunes and iMovie & trade ;, as well as Mac & reg; OS X, Apple's revolutionary new operating system. All of the Macs are connected to the Internet, and several are connected to digital lifestyle products that complement the Mac experience, such as digital cameras, digital camcorders, MP3 players, and handheld organizers.
The Apple stores will carry over 300 third-party software titles for professionals and consumers, including some of the best educational titles for kids. Many of the computers in the store will be running popular third-party applications such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop.
There was another difference from usual computer stores. After purchasing a computer from a box pusher such as Best Buy, you were used to no longer maintaining contact after the purchase. You rarely went back to a store because you were helped so well with your purchase. Things had to change at Apple.
Apple makes sure that you still want to walk in after the purchase and that you maintain a relationship with the company. For Apple, the purchase marked the beginning of a (hopefully) long relationship. Existing customers are welcome to use the products in-store, without a salesperson panting in your neck. In case of problems, you can go to the Genius Bar for free and after purchase you can follow an (online) workshop to better master products.
This is still the case, although the stores are temporary due to corona measures. has become somewhat more difficult to access.
The Apple Stores were an immense success from the start. In the first weekend, almost 8,000 people came to have a look and a turnover of 600,000 dollars was already made.
Apple Store success hard to copy
The fact that you cannot simply copy the success of the Apple Stores has been experienced by Microsoft. Microsoft also opened its own retail stores, but failed to bring in customers.
The announcement of the Microsoft Store.
The Microsoft Stores were warm and inviting, with friendly staff in bright t-shirts. But when you walked past a Microsoft Store, it usually had more staff than customers. We are writing here in the past, as Microsoft announced it will end retail stores in the summer of 2020.
The former Microsoft Store in San Diego.
Microsoft began its own stores in 2009 and eventually opened 100 locations in the US and Canada. The flagship store in New York, a stone's throw from Apple & rsquo; s well-known store on Fifth Avenue, still exists and London is also home to a large & lsquo; Experience Center & rsquo ;. Microsoft copied the workshop rooms and the Genius Bars, which became Microsoft Answer Desks. You could play hands-on with an Xbox, ask questions and try software on the displayed computers. As it was less busy you got more attention from the staff. But still it was not possible to bring in customers.
Future: increasingly beautiful stores
The physical location was the most important in the first Apple Stores. The stores were located in luxury shopping centers, but did not yet have the iconic appearance of today. Apple also opened a slew of mini-stores in malls based purely on location.
Previously published in this series:
- Apple History: WebObjects, a project Steve Jobs was proud of
- Apple history: Apple sold these Macs in 1996
- Apple history: John Sculley, the soft drink man who saved Apple
- Apple history: the G4 Cube is Apple's most beautiful and impractical computer
- Apple history: The Marimba ringtone of the iPhone
- Apple history: 40 years of innovation in photos
- Apple- history: the iPad 2 is 5 years old
- Apple history: these 5 Apple products are available as Special Edition
- Apple history: Robert Palladino