One of the biggest companies in the technological world relies heavily on its retailing strategy. As discussed in class, a retailing strategy is mostly based on “location, location, location,” which has been a key factor to the Apple Stores’ success. The company has slowly located itself in places where there’s a lot of foot traffic and where their high profile stores are relevant (in affluent neighborhoods and malls). Adding stores at a very slow pace has allowed the company to generate excitement every time there’s a new Apple Store opening. With larger stores attracting die hard fans that pass the night lining up to be the first one inside the new store. Such events generate extensive media attention, which acts as “free” publicity for Apple.

The stores provide the exact experience that Apple wants to give its customers, a simplistic yet friendly and clean atmosphere. Things like self-checkout by allowing customers to pay with their phone and walking out without the need of human interaction, to daily workshops to teach customers more about their new products. The chart below shows how retail expansion has led to many more people walking into the stores, making them likely to become potential customers.

Through exclusively providing newly introduced products and other important aspects such as an enhanced customer experience, the stores have become the most profitable per square foot in the world. This renouncing success has led to companies such as Microsoft, Sony and Samsung to mimic this model to no avail. The whole experience that an Apple store provides from the way the customers interact with employees to how they provide support positions the brand on consumers’ minds. A controlled and unified experience is what Apple delivers on all of its products, including the service at its stores.

Latest Apple Store opening in Palo Alto

Post based on a news article on Tech crunch.