Architosh Staff ([email protected])

04 Mar 2001

To Debunk the Myth: An Apple Retail Strategy

A reader wrote in with his opinion on the article Architosh News: Apple Retail Strategy. His opinion is that Apple's store front will be a flop.

He stated that "the article correctly identified the Store within Store idea has been generally laggard in terms of swaying the the multitudes from the 'Dark Side'. I too, have witnessed the lack of people in the Mac section of CompUSA."

"If Apple cannot increase their market share from average first time users and/or PC users who venture into CompUSA or Circuit City, & Sears, etc. Then, how in the heck are they going to draw them into a Mac ONLY store? Most people will drive right on by! The very myth you've so eloquently described is the primary reason most people will ignore a Mac only retail store. Afterall, if they ignore Macs when they're a few feet away what's the incentive to drive a several miles, find a parking spot and walk so many yards into a Mac store? It just won't happen unless an incentive is great enough to bring in the public at large for other reasons than Macs.

The clue is two words in this one sentence in your paragraph: Plus, iMacs with -live connections- to the Apple Macintosh Products Guide online. "Live connections", that, my friend, is the genesis of a possible stategy that might get the Apple retail store off the ground and running. Apple needs a hook to bring people in. If Apple would cater to Quicktime LIVE online events that are released ONLY to Apple stores. For instance, live movie previews, latest Madonna/Pop music releases, or live concert feed! Then, I might feel more confident a retail storefront just might work out for Apple."

We thank the reader for his opinion and encourage others to write in.