Apple Stores Prepares Ahead Of Apple Watch Launch

 Apple will debut its much-hyped Apple Watch, allowing prospective buyers a chance to try on a variety of sizes, straps and settings and place a pre-order before the gadget officially hits the market on April 24th.
Apple’s head of retail Angela Ahrendts has been working alongside design chief Jony Ive to remodel the tech giant’s retail stores so they look like the sort of place one might happily part with tens of thousands of dollars on a rose-gold-encased wearable.
(In a recent New Yorker profile, Ive recalled the comment of one unnamed wag: “I’m not going to buy a watch if I can’t stand on carpet.”)

PARIS, FRANCE – MARCH 27: Apple unveils the creative barricade in front of the new Apple Watch Shop at Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann on March 27 in Paris, France. Beginning April 10 in nine countries, Apple Watch will be available for preview, try-on by appointment at Apple’s retail stores, Galeries Lafayette Paris, Selfridges London and Isetan Tokyo and for pre-order through the Apple Online Store. (Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images for Apple)

Apple has remained predictably mum on what exactly it’ll be doing to upgrade its now 14-year-old Apple Store format beyond the province of “tourists and truants.”
In recent days, close watchers of the Cupertino, Calif. gadget firm have managed to obtain leaked details on the revamp ahead of this Friday’s rollout. The excellent Apple-obsessive blog 9to5Mac published photos of what Apple is describing as “magical” display tables, where the watches will run a demo showcasing their features and apps.

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Only shoppers with reservations will be able to try on an Apple Watch, and even those lucky few will be limited to testing out two models on their wrist. This limitation appears to be part of a larger Apple Store strategy spearheaded by Ahrendts to transform the atmosphere by cutting down on customer lines and wait times.
“Tell your customers we have more availability online, and show them how easy it is to order,” wrote Ahrendts in a memo to employees ahead of the Apple Watch launch, obtained by Business Insider. “You’ll make their day.”

As well as new display cases and try-on areas, Apple Stores will offer private, hour-long VIP appointments — but only for those shoppers buying the $10,000-plus incarnations of the Apple Watch (prices range from $349 for the basic ‘Sport’ edition to $17,000 for an 18-karat yellow gold case and bright red buckle).
Apple Store workers haven’t been forgotten in this aesthetic overhaul. On Monday, they were handed newly designed t-shirts in a classic navy and told to start wearing them on Friday’s Apple Watch launch day, according to MacRumors, who obtained a photo of the upgraded uniform. Ahrendts is said to have spearheaded the move away from Apple Store’s traditional royal blue tees in favor of this more elegant look.
As well as in Apple Stores, the Apple Watch will be on sale in a small, select group of upscale department stores handpicked by Ahrendts, including London’s Selfridges and Galeries Lafayette in Paris (see above photo).
These stores boast a wealthy, style-conscious clientele who regularly drop thousands on the latest fashions — including clothes and accessories by Burberry, the luxe British brand Ahrendts famously turned around as CEO, tripling its revenues and overseeing a stock return of 300%.
Source: Forbes