Apple kills off the store: Tech giant rebrands its retail outlets (dailymail.co.uk).
“What started at the San Francisco location, is now making its way to all of Apple’s 479 retail stores. Apple is bidding farewell to ‘Apple Store’ and giving its locations the official moniker of ‘Apple’. The branding change has already been implemented online, and store pages now display the stores by a name like ‘Apple Union Square’ or ‘Apple The Grove’, and is expected to make its way to all of Apple’s 479 retail shops. … Apple’s store rebranding is part of the firm’s vision for its stores to be more than just a place to purchase products, but rather community hubs with a boutique vibe.”
And part of the firms vision to be branded as much a lifestyle choice as much as anything else when weary but hipster lumbersexuals hack back through the wilderness overgrowth in excess of beard to tap pad in community with a bowl of Sugar Puffs (dailymail.co.uk, Nov. 2014). I believe you will still be able to buy from the rigorous proselytising to the already premium price converted and in awe community sales assistants at the not-store stores though. 😜
Updated 23rd August 2016
But is it all just a “we are you friends you premium price buy from” ploy or, really, did something change?
Apple under Tim Cook: A nicer company, but a better one? (cnet.com).
“Five years ago, Tim Cook officially took over as CEO of Apple amid questions about his ability to live up to the legacy of Steve Jobs.”
A “cult of personality” (Wikipedia) legacy which you are still likely to find yourself sent to virtual Coventry by all the other Mac fanboys n’ girls if you question but one that is seemingly now accepted for what it was albeit with Apple logoed kid gloves
“‘Tim Cook is one of the nicest and most charitable CEOs out there,’ said Michael Obuchowski, chief investment officer of Apple shareholder Merlin Asset Management. ‘By now we’ve all fully realized that despite all his faults, Steve Jobs was a creative genius and Apple’s alleged deep bench doesn’t come even close to replacing his ideas and obsession with design.’”
Said “deep bench” being the trench of industry analysts, academics and the scores of concerned but presumably communal investors who swooped in after Jobs’ medical leave. For sure, Apple has changed, but its undeniable that so too has its user base who, as much a part of an elitist community as now, had more industry-standards work to be getting on with between communal frappuccinos and Sugar Puffs: Is Apple pushing away professionals? (alphr.com, Oct. 2011).
Updated 31stAugust 2016
And indeed, is there need to promote themself as the saintly consumerism isn’t just about money tech good guys the culturally, brandedly converted will always hold them to be?
Apple rips into “unprecedented” $14.5B tax bill from EU (cnet.com).
“ The European Union on Tuesday hit Apple with a $14.5 billion tax penalty, ruling its deal with Ireland was illegal. EU antitrust regulators say the 13 billion euro payment to Ireland could be slashed if other countries, including the US, demand the company pay more within their own jurisdictions, the European Commission said in a statement. … Apple is one of many US technology companies [“Don’t be Evil” Google being the other] that have benefited from stashing cash overseas. That maneuver lets the companies avoid paying hefty taxes they could face by bringing the cash back to the US.”
Indeed, when rump Trump figures out the US doesn’t actually own the internet (thisisnocave.blogspot.co.uk, Dec. 2015) he’ll throw his populist syrup on to that to make American tax great again, wont he….
Updates/Follow Ups
2nd October 2016
But it appears they may have some more community hubbing to do with hipster lumbersexuals in Europe:
Fuming man walks into Apple store and calmly smashes up every iPhone in sight (mirror.co.uk).
“The man, dressed in shades and wearing a backpack, was filmed as he walked from one tech stand to the next in a French shop. He can be seen picking up iPhones , placing them on the counter then bringing a metal pétanque ball crashing down on the screen. As he wanders through the store he smashes pieces of tech as he goes while ranting in French. Eventually, a security guard jogs over and asks the man what he is doing.”
Which, had it been stateside interaction with said jogging security guard would likely have gone something like “Hey, bro, whatcha’ doing? Lets have frappuccino and cereal… and a hug!”
It does bring to mind all the angry fuss raised by “Micro$oft’s” Anniversary update (Latest Picks 26th Aug. 2016), but I’ve not heard of anyone going into PCWorld with an iron bar to batter any screen that dare show Windows Ink Workspace in the system tray; perhaps he doesnt’t like the iOS 10 update either (cnet.com).
9th October 2016
And in China too, even outside of that Foxconn plant in Shenzhen described by local media as a “labour camp” (huffingtonpost.com, Nov. 2014):
Shopper hits back at “poor customer service” by buying all store’s iPhones—then smashing them to pieces (mirror.co.uk).
“ The customer reportedly felt the shop owner was arrogant, so in a misguided attempt to teach him a lesson, he bought all its Apple iPhone stock then smashed it with a hammer. The man, who had gone into the store in China to get his own phone fixed, became angry when the shop owner said: ‘Fix, what fix? If you have the money then buy a new phone. If you don’t, then go to another store to have it fixed.’ The customer then said he wanted to buy all the iPhones, which turned out to be 10 worth £7,636 reports World of Buzz .”
“Fix, what fix?” seemingly perpetuating that myth that Aplle products never go wrong, get malware, and don’t do things in its own locked-in ecosystem that social justice warriors can disapprove of.
Recent/related stories
- Apple praised by Google, damned by Lee Rigby family for FBI refusal—who got a Fone Fun gizmo to hack it anyway for a score (Latest Picks 18th February 2016)
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