Apple unveiled a new vision for its hugely successful retail stores on Thursday, aiming to give shoppers the experience of setting foot in the headquarters of the company credited with inventing the smartphone.
Speaking at a media event in San Francisco on Thursday, Apple executives offered a sneak peak of a new store that features design elements that will later roll out to more locations worldwide, including new spaces for socialization and collaboration.
The makeover follows Apple's first-ever decline in iPhone sales and its first revenue drop in 13 years in an increasingly saturated market.
While the redesign includes plenty of glass, metal and blonde wood – the sleek materials shoppers have come to associate with the company – it also borrows features from Apple's hotly anticipated new headquarters in Silicon Valley, which is set to open early next year.
Like the new campus, the San Francisco store features terrazzo floors, and the ceiling fixtures are also similar, BJ Siegel, Apple's senior director of design for real estate and development, said in an interview.
"We're trying to be one company and have one point of view," he said.
Shoppers who enter the "boardroom" at the San Francisco store, a new space for entrepreneurs and small business owners, will get an idea of the look of Apple’s futuristic headquarters, which is likened to a spaceship for its circular design. Much of the furniture is identical to that Apple employees will find in the new campus, including tables designed in part by Jonathan Ive, Apple’s chief design officer.
Photo: Reuters/Noah Berger
When working with small business customers, "we want them to feel like they have left the retail environment and entered Apple," Siegel said.
The Apple Store is the envy of many in the retail world, with the highest sales per square foot in the industry, but some say the stores have lost their edge since the first one opened 15 years ago.
With the new design, industry watchers are getting a glimpse of how Apple retail leader Angela Ahrendts, who joined the company two years ago from Burberry, will put her stamp on the store.
Other elements of the new floor plan include a redesigned section for accessories, an open space dubbed the "forum" for community events and a leafy plaza that will be open to the public round the clock.
"We will know we have done really great if it feels like a town square," Ahrendts said.
(Reporting by Julia Love; Editing by Andrew Hay)
Photo: Reuters/Noah Berger
Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s SVP of Retail and Online Stores, discusses Apples new retail store design during a media preview in San Francisco, May 19, 2016. Photo: Reuters/Noah Berger
Photo: Reuters/Noah Berger
Related Stories
| Jun 11, 2014
Bill signing signals approval to revitalize New Orleans’ convention center corridor
A plan to revitalize New Orleans' Convention Center moves forward after Louisiana governor signs bill.
| Jun 9, 2014
Green Building Initiative launches Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors program
The new program focuses exclusively on the sustainable design and construction of interior spaces in nonresidential buildings and can be pursued by both building owners and individual lessees of commercial spaces.
| May 29, 2014
7 cost-effective ways to make U.S. infrastructure more resilient
Moving critical elements to higher ground and designing for longer lifespans are just some of the ways cities and governments can make infrastructure more resilient to natural disasters and climate change, writes Richard Cavallaro, President of Skanska USA Civil.
| May 29, 2014
Retail renovation trends: Omni-channel shopping, personalized experiences among top goals of new store designs
In pursuit of enhanced customer experiences, retailers are using Big Data, interactive technology, and omni-channel shopping to transform their bricks and mortar locations.
| May 23, 2014
Top interior design trends: Gensler, HOK, FXFOWLE, Mancini Duffy weigh in
Tech-friendly furniture, “live walls,” sit-stand desks, and circadian lighting are among the emerging trends identified by leading interior designers.
| May 20, 2014
Kinetic Architecture: New book explores innovations in active façades
The book, co-authored by Arup's Russell Fortmeyer, illustrates the various ways architects, consultants, and engineers approach energy and comfort by manipulating air, water, and light through the layers of passive and active building envelope systems.
| May 19, 2014
Why e-commerce won't kill 'bricks and mortar' retail sector
Despite emerging structural challenges and newly-announced store closings, such as those of Radio Shack and Office Depot, the U.S. retail sector has continued on its solid recovery.
| May 13, 2014
19 industry groups team to promote resilient planning and building materials
The industry associations, with more than 700,000 members generating almost $1 trillion in GDP, have issued a joint statement on resilience, pushing design and building solutions for disaster mitigation.
| May 11, 2014
Final call for entries: 2014 Giants 300 survey
BD+C's 2014 Giants 300 survey forms are due Wednesday, May 21. Survey results will be published in our July 2014 issue. The annual Giants 300 Report ranks the top AEC firms in commercial construction, by revenue.
| May 6, 2014
'Ugliest building in New Jersey' finally getting facelift
After a decade of false starts and mishaps, the American Dream mall in the Meadowlands may finally get built.
