Riding Apple's retail coattails
By: Keith Regan
USA - Several Apple resellers have started to roll out Apple-like storefronts of their own. In Orem, Utah, Simply Mac now sells its wares from a glass-front store that features the same amenities found in the Apple stores - from high-end displays to the service bar with qualified support staff. In fact, at first glance, it's difficult to tell the store from a flagship Apple location.
Like the other 180 or so stores Apple has opened since 2001, the newly opened Apple store in the Natick Collection just outside Boston is a brightly lit, minimalist space meant to highlight the company's cutting-edge products. Employees swirl around the store to answer questions and keep a close eye on the iPhones being pawed near the front window.
The luxe environment of the Apple store has become a key weapon in Apple's consumer strategy.
Meanwhile, just a few miles west, Mac reseller Macs at Work reflects an entirely different philosophy. Though it maintains a presence along the highway, the storefront itself was closed late in 2005. There's no inventory in the back room, either - the owners order what they need when their customers need it.
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