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Apple retail store coming to Basel, Switzerland
According to listings posted on Apple's job site, the people of Switzerland will soon have their fourth Apple retail store. The available job openings are currently for a manager, inventory specialist, and an Apple Creative, Genius, and Customer Adviser. The listings were first spotted by Swiss Apple site MacPrime. The site had previously speculated that Apple was building a store at Freie Strasse 47 in the city center. The old building that had lived at that location was recently demolished and construction had begun on a new, Apple-esque structure. Today's job posting seems to confirm that the site was correct. The Basel store will be the forth in the country, after stores in Zurich, Geneva, and Wallisellen. Basel is the third-largest city in Switzerland with a population of around 166,000. It is one of the country's cultural centers with numerous museums and theaters, including the Museum of Fine Arts, which offers the world's oldest art collection that is accessible to the public, according to Wikipedia.
Apple's first store in South Australia to open on Saturday
Apple has announced that its next Apple store will open at Rundle Place Centre in Adelaide, South Australia this Saturday. It will be the first Apple Store in South Australia. This will bring the number of Apple's retail stores in Australia up to 20. Rundle Place Centre is a four-story shopping center with over 70 retail outlets. The store is set to open at 10 AM local time this Saturday. However, interested customers can already set up Genius Bar appointments on the store's web page.
'Spaceship Campus' architecture firm to revamp Apple retail stores
Marketing Magazine is reporting today that architecture firm Foster + Partners, which is working on the design of Apple's new Cupertino campus, has been hired to create new designs for Apple Stores. Apple's previous architect of choice was 8 Inc, which has been responsible for such iconic Apple Stores as the 5th Avenue flagship store in New York City and the Regent Street store in London. It's unknown if Foster + Partners plans to make any drastic changes to the highly successful and recently trademarked design cues for Apple Stores, which include all-glass storefronts and rectangular wooden tables. Foster + Partners was hired by late Apple CEO Steve Jobs to design the new Cupertino "spaceship" campus building, which is now reportedly $2 billion over budget and somewhat behind schedule.
Evidence points to new Netherlands Apple Store
It looks like Haarlem, The Netherlands will soon have the luxury of a new Apple Store along Grote Houtstraat, a prime retail location in a popular pedestrian walkway in the city. ifoAppleStore reports that construction has begun on the ground floor of what appears to be the beginnings of an Apple Store. The space is said to comprise of approximately 8,000 square feet. Of that, 6,800 square feet will be public retail space, while the rest will be back-of-house. The Netherlands currently has an Apple Store in Amsterdam (as pictured). Another is under construction in The Hague, although it's believed Haarlem's store could be completed first. Check out ifoAppleStore's webpage for further details, photos of the construction site and a store plan.
Putting Apple's retail traffic into perspective
Two days ago, during an interview with Bill Shope at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook mentioned some 120 million people walked through the doors of Apple's 394 (approximately) stores open in 2012. To put the magnitude of those 120 million visitors into perspective, The Mac Observer has put together an interesting article (with charts and all) stacking that number against some of the biggest attractions in the world. For example, Disney's 13 theme parks drew 125 million attendees in 2011; that's a scant 5 million higher than the number who visited an Apple Store in 2012. Also note that the 2012 Super Bowl drew about 111.3 million viewers. Credit the NFL as deserved, though: that was for just one evening, not the entire year! Perhaps the most striking statistic is that, compared to the entire world population in 2012, estimated at 7.07 billion people, Apple's 120 million store visitors equates to 1.69 percent of the world population -- a noticeable and discernible percentage in the total. It's staggering to think that Apple draws such significant foot traffic. For more comparisons -- and charts -- do check out The Mac Observer's post here.
Retail VP Jerry McDougal leaves Cupertino
For those playing the home version of Apple's Corporate Shuffle, you may recall that John Browett was shown the door last October, leaving Apple without a hand at the retail rudder during the holiday season. We have noted they are still looking, and one of the names bandied about was Jerry McDougal, the vice president of retail. Well, as of today it's being reported that McDougal is off the list as well. According to ifoAppleStore, he has departed Cupertino as well, in order to (say it with me) spend more time with his family. It is entirely possible this is the case, given the additional commitments likely required in the absence of a head of Apple retail. However, this has become a phrase that means any number of other things when someone departs an organization. See also: "creative differences." Also reported by ifoAppleStore, some of his responsibilities were retail marketing and merchandising, as well as store operations and loss prevention. So internal candidates are thinning, and there's still been no announcement or indication someone has been hired. Hopefully we will get an official statement from Apple about this during next week's earnings call.
Apple falls in customer satisfaction survey
Analytics firm ForeSee says Apple slipped 3 percentage points in a holiday customer satisfaction survey, garnering 80 points, according to AllThingsD. That's still an excellent number. The data comes from a survey of 24,000 customers that was conducted between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The drop is one of the biggest Foresee has seen, and Apple's lowest score in four years. There doesn't seem to be a simple explanation. Apple went through some drama earlier this year when it fired John Browett as head of retail, but it's hard to see how that might have had much of an effect on customers. AllThingsDigital quotes Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee, as saying, "The luster of Apple is fading a bit, and keeping up with consumer's rising expectations is no easy task." The ForeSee survey measures four things that are believed to add up to customer satisfaction: merchandise appeal, price competitiveness, website functionality and website content. ForeSee adds that website functionality should be a top priority for Apple. Amazon tops the list this holiday season at 88 percent customer satisfaction. JCPenney and Dell also dropped in the ForeSee survey.
Use the F-word to quickly reach a real person at AppleCare
Today TNW spotlights a helpful tip (originally posted on Reddit) that can help you get through to a real person faster when calling the AppleCare helpline: drop the F-word. Like many of us, the Reddit user grew frustrated navigating through the numeric automated telelphone system menu and (perhaps like many of us) began cursing in frustration into the phone. Then something interesting happened: "[The automated voice] cut itself off in mid-sentence, apologized, and in about 10 more seconds I was talking to an Apple tech." The ability of an automated telelphone system recognizing the F-word isn't a genius invention by Apple, though. It's software built into the third-party Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system used by AppleCare. As TNW points out, IVRs "are often programmed to listen out for certain keywords that might indicate they are about to lose a customer. By monitoring calls and immediately connecting a frustrated caller, the company may be able to reduce the number of complaints [it] receives and retain the caller's custom." But for those of you reading this who now think you have a hotline to a real AppleCare representative the second you call, you might want to think again. Despite the ability of the IVR to recognize profanity, shouting "F*CK!!!" every time you call AppleCare may not get you the results you hope to get for a few reasons. First, you look like a jerk with anger issues. Second, another Reddit user suggests that doing so won't always take you to someone who can answer your questions. Instead it just might transfer you to an AppleCare "call director" who will apologize for making you wait and then transfer you back to the queue -- something that might have you screaming "F*CK!" all over again. [Image by Sebastian Fritzon]
Apple executive shakeup: Scott Forstall and John Browett are leaving the company
Huge news out of Apple today, as its senior vice president of iOS software, Scott Forstall, will leave the company next year after putting in some 15 years. Furthermore, John Browett -- head of Apple retail -- is also on his way out. The memo was delivered late today, on a day that is littered with other news that the company may hope will bury the bulk of it -- and, on a day where trading on the New York Stock Exchange is halted due to Hurricane Sandy. It's practically a given that Forstall is taking the brunt of the impact from its decision to forge ahead with an obviously subpar Maps application, all while trumpeting it as one of the pillars of iOS 6 during his keynote speech at WWDC 2012. The introduction of Siri as a beta product is also on Forstall, and we all know what happens to executives who flub something related to iPhone.... As the shakeup unfolds, Jony Ive, Bob Mansfield, Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi will add more responsibilities to their roles. In other words, Tim Cook isn't about to usher in new help who may thwart the company's efforts to continue at its breakneck pace. Curiously, Mansfield will be heaping more on his own plate just months after he had originally planned to retire. As for Ive? He'll be responsible for providing "leadership and direction for Human Interface (HI) across the company in addition to his role as the leader of Industrial Design." Eddy Cue will be gifted burdened with Siri and Maps, while also keeping an eye on the iTunes Store, the App Store, the iBookstore and iCloud. Needless to say, he probably won't be seeing too many walls outside of Cupertino for the foreseeable future. Federighi is being tasked to lead both iOS and OS X, while Mansfield chairs a new Technologies group that bundles Apple's wireless teams across the company. (Of note, Dan Riccio -- who was scheduled to take over for Mansfield prior to his retirement retraction -- isn't among those who are gaining duties.) Just months after Browett was brought in from Dixons in order to lead up Apple's retail efforts, he's on the outs as well. Of course, he's also responsible for the branch having to tell stores that it "messed up" when he fiddled with staffing levels back in August. A search for a new head of Retail is underway and in the interim, the Retail team will report directly to CEO Tim Cook. Update: The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Forstall was asked to resign after refusing to sign his own name to Apple's Maps apology, leaving Tim Cook to sign his name instead. Yikes. %Gallery-169590%
East Coast Apple Stores batten down for Hurricane Sandy
Just like most everyone else on the East Coast of the United States, Apple Stores in five states, D.C. and Canada are making preparations for "Frankenstorm" Hurricane Sandy. ifoAppleStore.com reports that between 35 and 50 stores may close in the northeastern US and Canada (if they haven't already), as they are either within the expected landfall zone of Sandy or just outside it. One of our readers has confirmed that Rhode Island and Boston area stores are shut. Meanwhile, two of Apple's flagship New York City stores have surrounded themselves with sandbags, with the Fifth Avenue store even wrapping Macs and other products in plastic bags as an extra precaution against water damage. All of this goes to show that if Apple isn't taking chances with this megastorm, neither should you. If you live in the area expected to be affected by Hurricane Sandy, please take every precaution possible. Forewarned is forearmed.
Thieves smash car into Leawood, Kansas Apple Store
If you can't strong-arm your way past Apple's security, smash your car into the store instead. That's what someone or a group of people did at the Apple Store in Leawood, Kan., early this morning. Fox 4 from Kansas City reports that police are looking for a suspect or multiple suspects that rammed a stolen Dodge into the front window of the Apple Store, grabbed merchandise and ran off. Police have not released a list of what was stolen as of yet. It's not the first time this has happened to the Kansas City-area location. In 2010, the same thing happened at the same store, a commenter notes in this story of a similar smash and grab in Portland, but that time iPhones were stolen. Since then, the store has installed security gates.
Apple to open first Swedish retail store
A visit to a mall in Sweden by Swedish site IDG.se has confirmed (by the familiar black covering and the Apple logo) that there is indeed a new store opening up near Stockholm. The Täby Spectrum shopping center will host that country's first Apple Store, starting on September 15. Apple's been laying the groundwork in Sweden for a while now, filing a business registration certificate last November, and hiring for the store earlier this year. But the company is now getting closer than ever to actually selling items in the store. And there are more stores on the way: Apple is also planning to open stores in the Harbour Street district of Stockholm, as well as in a brand new mall location near the southwestern city of Malmö. We've heard a lot in the past about how quickly Apple trying to expand in China, but that's not the only foreign land Apple is aiming to open up for business. [via MacRumors]
Apple Stores have had 300 million visitors so far in 2012
If you thought those Apple stores were pretty crowded you'd be right. The Loop is reporting Apple has had 300 million visitors to its retail outlets in fiscal year 2012 (which started in October 2011). That's a big number. For comparisons, the total US population is 311 million people. Here's another daunting number. The Genius Bar services about 50,000 people every day worldwide. That's a lot of customer impressions for Apple to make, and judging by recent satisfaction surveys, most customers feel they are being treated pretty well by Apple As of July, Apple had 373 retail stores around the world, with about 250 in the U.S.
Apple retail chiefs refute layoffs, address employees
Apple's new retail chief, John Browett, told leadership teams in Apple Stores that the mothership (not his words) "messed up" (his words). In a rare gaffe, Browett's team apparently tried what Dow Jones Newswires says were new staffing formulas. This led to shifts being cut and general pandemonium among some retail employees (and a lot of bloggers), but no layoffs as some reported. The pandemonium wasn't really that palpable, but Apple is reversing course and going back to its former staffing plans. The company also assured employees it is hiring. With a new iPhone and possibly new iPad on the near horizon, coupled with the holidays not that far off, Apple is going to need all hands on deck. Some excellent color commentary by Jim Dalrymple here.
Apple reportedly price matching iPhone discounts from carriers and other retailers
According to a leaked screengrab hosted up at MacRumors, Apple retail shops now have the authority to price match carrier and rival retail discounts on iPhone. Specifically, the note informs employees that prices from Best Buy, "carriers," Radio Shack and Target can be matched, with $49.01 seeming to be the savings across the board. Curiously, places like Wirefly, Amazon, Negri Electronics and even Walmart aren't mentioned, so we wouldn't recommend trying to work the price down based on ads seen from any of those. The note also mentions the iPhone 4 and 4S exclusively, and we're fairly sure this sort of goodwill won't ever been applied to iPad, Mac hardware or pretty much any other Apple kit. Of course, crazier things have happened. We've reached out to Apple for comment, and will update this article should it choose to reply.
Apple's employee hardware discount program officially begins
Apple employees can now take part in a new Employee Purchase Plan which started on Wednesday, says a report by MacNN. The discount offers employees $500 off select Mac computers and $250 off iPads. It does not include the low-price Mac mini or the Retina MacBook Pro. The discount also is separate from the employee's current 25 percent discount. Employees who have passed the 90-day probationary period can take advantage of the offer, and they can use their discount once every three years. Besides this extra discount, Apple also gave retail employees a well-deserved pay raise that could be as high as 25 percent, depending on the store and employee performance.
Apple adds 'Answers from the community' to product web pages
Apple has added a new "Answers from the community" section to its product pages on the Apple Store. Something similar to this called "Questions and answers" has been around for awhile for accessories sold on the Apple site, but it's now been expanded to Apple's marquee Mac, iPad, iPhone, and iPod products. The purpose of "Answers from the community" is right in the name. Visitors to the online Apple Store can submit questions about a product, such as "Will all the iPhone 4 accessories work with the 4S?" Anyone with an Apple ID can sign in and answer. Apple asks that users keep answers short and to the point; the compose page even has a simple graphical element reminiscent of a thermometer that warns when you're starting to get excessively verbose. Apple appears to be very heavily moderating user input on the service, which will come as no surprise to anyone who's ever read a comment thread on a news post that mentions an Apple product. Answers left in "Answers from the community" can take up to one business day to appear after they're uploaded, and it's safe to say that any inflammatory rants about fanbois, Kool-Aid, or any number of other anti-Apple cliches won't be approved. The Next Web notes that some of Apple's products seem to be pulling questions and answers from Apple's support forums, possibly pointing to greater integration between the two areas of Apple's site. "Answers from the community" should prove to be a very useful tool for getting the most common questions about Apple's products answered in a forum that's just a click away from the product itself.
Apple resellers in Europe say inventory delays affecting business
Life is a bit difficult for Apple's Premium Resellers in Europe now that the company is expanding retail locations throughout the continent. A post by France's Les Echos profiles a complaint by eBizcuss, the largest and first authorized reseller of Apple products in France (through their ICLG subsidiary), about the impact that the popular Apple Stores are having on the company. TUAW first covered this story in December, when we noted that eBizcuss has filed a lawsuit against Apple. eBizcuss saw sales fall 22 percent in the third quarter of 2011, and the company is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. The company has 200 employees and 15 stores throughout France, but has had its stock price drop by 50 percent in the last year. This isn't happening only in France -- AppleInsider reports that a person contacted the blog claiming that resellers in Sweden and Germany are also in jeopardy of going bankrupt, and that Apple's resellers in the Netherlands are concerned about the imminent opening of the first Dutch Apple store on February 18. The resellers are saying that they're not only seeing a continuing shortage of product in their stores, but they're being held to incredible standards that are almost impossible to meet. Apple audits the resellers, sending in mystery shoppers to make sure that resellers meet the standards. The French resellers are complaining that the inspections are being done by a British firm rather than Apple France. Some stores have been asked to change locations, because the ceilings weren't high enough to pass Apple's muster. In other cases, furnishings for the retail outlets have have to be ordered from an Apple-specified German furniture company, and Apple requires that products be displayed in an obsessively detailed way. As for eBizcuss, their store at the Hotel de Ville in Paris is nearly empty, with no iPhones in stock. The nearby Apple Store at the Carrousel du Louvre? Packed, with iPhones and iPads in profusion. Things will only get worse for the Authorized Resellers, as Apple has noted that they want to open "dozens" of new stores in France.
Daily Update for January 13, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
Daily Update for January 3, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
