DDi - September 2011 - (Page 44)

44 AWARDS 201 1 RetailerYear of the Photo: Courtesy of Apple W Apple ith more than 300 stores worldwide, Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Inc. boasts one of the most recognizable brand images in the retail industry and a legion of dedicated followers to boot. In fact, its retail stores get more than 60 million visitors in a single quarter—that’s more people than Disney’ four biggest theme parks had in all of 2010 (according to The Wall Street Journal). With the recent announcement that Steve Jobs, who co-founded the company in 1976, has stepped down as CEO, the world is anxiously awaiting what Apple will do next. A company known to have a penchant for design innovation and technological advances has made product lines like iPod, iPhone, iTunes and iPads household names throughout the world. The company also recently debuted its latest operating system—Mac OS X Lion—which was purchased and downloaded by more than 1 million users in just one day. Arguably one of Apple’s most successful aspects is its bricks-and-mortar retail presence. Airy and casual—staffers seemingly can wear what they want as long as its paired with the brand’s signature blue T-shirt with Apple logo—the stores offer attractive lighting, a clutter-free, wide-open ﬂoorplan, the use of natural materials, such as wood, glass and stone, and the full line of Apple products and accessories. Extensively trained employees, a Genius Bar that provides technical support and product education classes round out the stores. In fact, the brand’s stores are so lucrative and recognizable that some have dared to impersonate them. Although mimicry often is considered the highest form of ﬂattery, the company likely wasn’t so ﬂattered when ﬁve fake Apple stores—complete with Apple products—were discovered in Kunming, China, earlier this summer. When it comes to growing its brand, Apple opened ﬁve new retail stores around the world on Aug. 13, including its ﬁrst-ever store in Anchorage located in the 5th Avenue Mall; a unit in the Conestoga Mall in Waterloo, Canada; a second Apple store in Utah at the Fashion Place Mall in Murray; a new unit in Melbourne, Australia’s Westﬁeld Southland shopping center; and the company’s sixth Italian retail store in the I Gigli mall in Campi Bisenzio, Florence. Apple plans to open a total of 30 new retail stores by the end of September 2011. With such ambitious plans, Apple is poised for continued success in 2011 and beyond, and is most deserving of the title, Retailer of the Year. —SARAH GODDARD | September 2011 www.ddionline.com http://www.ddionline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DDi - September 2011

DDi - September 2011
Table of Contents
From the Editor
From the Show Director
Newsworthy
Shopper Insights
Greentailing
Editor’s Choice
Portfolio Awards 2011
Retail Design Luminaries
Retail Design Influencers
Design Firms of the Year
APP Exclusive: Bonus Giorgio Borruso project photos
Best Visual Merchandising Programs
APP Exclusive: Bonus Anthropologie visual merchandising photos
Retailer of the Year
Best-Designed Stores of the Year
Retail Standouts
Calendar
Advertisers
Think Tank

DDi - September 2011