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The new Apple Store on Broadway and West 67th opened this morning, with a crowd of Apple enthusiasts as well as the curious queueing up down the block. The line moved pretty quickly, with visitors being welcomed by cheering Apple employees who also handed out t-shirts.
One visitor was self-proclaimed "big Apple fanboy" Matt Duffy, who told the Daily News he traveled from Scotland and has been to Paris, Boston and London for other openings, "This is my seventh opening. It's good fun. You meet people in line and chat with them. It's a good atmosphere." While there were some folks waiting since last night, others were just people who decided to check out the scene at that moment.
There were some celebrities on hand too—we spotted Willem Dafoe (currently in Idiot Savant), Billy Crudup and 30 Rock stars Jack McBrayer and Jane Krakowski. All in all, most people—many families—were trying out Apple products, getting advice from employees and passing the time at a new neighborhood store on a drizzly Saturday.
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No love for the 24 hr best buy grand opening at union square, gothamist?
i waited for nearly 12+ hours, and i didn't get squat
The other one is just across the park...
Fuck corporate greed and good bye Bleeker Bob's while your at it.
Just don't get it. Everything is mark up to retail price and the store will still be around this time next year.
I would hope or imagine people are just window shopping or using the computers there.
They are an inventive, innovating company. They sell their products at rates they deem fair and they sell a lot of them. Sony used to be first with the new products. They invented the Betamax and lost the business to the VHS companies. The had a good run with the Walkman and they invented the the Trinitron picture tube and were the leading TV set manufacturer but the competition quickly caught up. Apple has computers that stood the test of time with a much lower rate of the problems that are associated with the PC. They came up with the iPod a few years ago and kept the momentum with constant upgrading. I understand 37 million iPhones and iPod Touch units have been sold. That's why their stores get the crowds. The best part is that unlike Sony or Nokia, Apple is an American Company and the money stays here.
You forgot to mention that iphones/ipods are manufactured in China.
Aren't most things nowadays? Point out any computer or phone that's made in the US. But regardless of where the products are made, the company itself showed a net profit through their 2009 fiscal year of roughly $6 billion. That's $6 billion net, not gross, meaning money that's not paid to Chinese subcontractors.
I knew that but the company is American. The inventiveness and innovation start here. The goods are made in China and elsewhere because that's the way this economy works. Had they made it here the pricing would have made the product unaffordable for most of us. Let us give them their due. Would the iPhone had sold as well if Nokia or Samsung had made it? Probably not. Spirit of 76 perhaps said it better, but the message is there.
Please stop. You lost credibility @ "Apple is an American company".
They're still getting stomped in the PC market. That's one segment Apple has never been able to capture more of for a number of different reasons.
The Ipod and Iphone literally keep that company afloat now, which is fine.
Also, is this a press Junket?
Would Big Apple Fanboy have come all the way from Scotland if a new store opened in the Bronx or Harlem?
Why not? A lot of Europeans I know who come to visit NYC have Harlem and The Bronx high on their list of places to visit. I was even surprised by how many tourists from Sweden specifically stay at hotels in Harlem. Now if you ask how many New Yorkers would come out to wait overnight in Harlem or The Bronx well then...
...but then again how many of them went to the opening of Apple's Manhasset store a while back either?
If these people really wanted a t-shirt, there are no doubt numerous stores in the neighborhood where they wouldn't have to wait out overnight for just a chance at getting one.
I think this article may slightly be 'slightly' exaggerating the situation. While there were certainly lines around the block and lots of enthused screaming and high-fives from cheering employees, you didn't have to wait for 12 hrs to get a t-shirt.
I brought my 4-year-old son to the opening. We love our Apple computers and I thought he would enjoy all the hoopla of the store opening. I really think this store is going to be great for the neighborhood. The 5th Ave store is in such a chaotic neighborhood and the SoHo store is pretty far downtown. Apple already has lots of free weekly workshops set up on the UWS for the kids to learn Photoshop and video-editing and all sorts of fun stuff.
Anyway, the store opened at 10 am and we arrived 1 1/2 hrs. before, at 8:30 am. We were in the store by 10:10 am. And yes, he got his commemorative t-shirt (the first 2500 people in the store got t-shirts).
I have to say, Apple did this (like they do most things) right. Since it was drizzling out they handed out large "Apple" umbrellas to keep the crowd dry, and Starbucks was giving out complimentary coffee and pastries.
Apple may not manufacture their hardware in the U.S. but what major electronics company does? Does Microsoft manufacture their X-Box here? I believe all of Apple's hardware product design/development, as well as all of their software design, is done here. In the globalized world of 2009 I think Apple is about as American a company as you can get.
I cannot tell you how relieved I am that this Apple store has opened. I really really needed an iPod, but up until now I had no idea where or how I could acquire one.
Finally, there will be a place in NYC where you can get quality Apple products at an affordable price.
Great coverage. The way/strategy retail executives presented the Apple store is interesting. It’s very understated, but the most noteworthy quotes all orbit around how modest and unobtrusive it is. There are also some tidbits on the bits blog stating its community/education events.
It makes me wonder if Apple wants to shed its big business image, because it is opening in an area traditionally made up of small-business shops and is more of a residential neighborhood.
In my reporting in Manhattan, I’ve found there to be an undertone/resistance to bigger franchises moving into areas. You can find that here:
http://bit.ly/jrV09
It makes me wonder if Apple isn’t as viewed as negatively as banks/starbucks/bigger businesses that exist in New York City.