When it comes to the retail experience, Apple sits atop the mountain for customer experience alongside luxury fashion brands like Louis Vuitton.
Now, a new report from Fortune gives us an insight into how Steve Jobs consulted with Louis Vuitton’s CEO Bernard Arnault before opening the first-ever Apple Store in McLean, Virginia.
According to the article, Jobs turned to Arnault to help make Apple’s retail experience as similar to a luxury flagship store as possible despite his peers saying it was “completely crazy.”
The first Apple Store opened in 2001, but before then the best Macs and other Apple products were only sold in retailers like Sears. Wanting to control the retail experience, as he felt the customer journey was lacking, Jobs would reach out to Arnault to ask for “advice on opening Apple Stores in the same areas as Louis Vuitton’s prime retail locations.”
Arnault, in a 2016 interview, said, “I must say, I was myself a little doubtful of selling [iPods in shops],” but gave Jobs advice anyway, which evolved into the Apple Store experience we’ve grown to know and love today.
The Apple Stores of today
While the first Apple Retail experience in 2001 would’ve been incredibly different to what we experience today, the groundwork and ethos have passed on through the decades. The excitement that customers share when queuing for the new iPhone or even the Apple Vision Pro is something that was meticulously thought out over twenty years ago.
Everything from the way you’re greeted when entering the store to the angle of the products on the table went through rigorous studies to make sure the customer had the best experience possible.
The parallels between Jobs' vision for an Apple Store and the most luxurious shops on the planet, like Louis Vuitton or Hermès, are what make shopping at Apple so enthralling. With the new M3 MacBook Air now available, it may just be an excuse to go and check out that retail experience again for yourself.
