The south of Joburg has come into the 21st century. We have an iStore at The Glen. It was the opening today. At 8h45 there was already a queue outside, a crowd of people facing the glass windows, staring at the iAssistants inside receiving their final briefing before opening the iDoors.
BBM to my husband: “iStore open at The Glen. If I don’t come home, that’s where you’ll find me”. My husband’s BBM response: “Shall I bring a sleeping bag and a flask of tea?” (Yes yes, I do have a BB).
The iStores I’ve been to in the USA and here in SA look the same. Clean lines, lots of light, it’s a beacon in a mall, crowded with iFans. I am unashamedly one. The products are made for people. All people. They are people’s products. They are not fussy. They are beautiful. They are easy to use. And the packaging is sooooo beautiful, that it takes me a while just to admire the packaging before opening.
iStore experience in the USA and SA is different. I prefer the USA experience. I like being being welcomed at the door and asked what I would like to do today. I like it that any assistant carries a hand-help POS and can ring up my sale wherever I am in the store. No standing in a queue. I like being asked, “Would you like a printed invoice or can I email it to you?” and it gets emailed right there and then. I have not experienced that in SA. I suppose there are other considerations why this model wouldn’t work in SA.
Countless articles have been written about why Apple is such a successful brand and the secrets of its success. For each article writing about why Apple is so successful, there are an equal amount of articles by people telling us of why they hate Apple.
Like every successful brand, there are the fans and the detractors. The Apple brand is one of those that builds loyalty, sometimes blind loyalty. I read sometime ago that Apple was the only brand that had positive spin in the popular press every single day. That is an achievement.
Then there is Steve Jobs. Visionary and creative genius. By many accounts, not an easy person to have worked with. But a person many people would have wanted to work with. Me included!
Whichever way one looks at it, Apple is one of the leading global brands. Love it or hate it.
You know how I feel…
