The New York Times has a great piece on the success of Apple’s retail stores.
When Apple first launched retail stores in 2001, I thought was a dumb idea. Why bother with brick and mortar in 2001? I was dead wrong. Apple’s success at retail is really amazing, especially when you consider how badly other companies have failed at retail. Think Gateway stores..
There are a lot of aspects to Apple’s retail model which make it a success, but the number one characteristic seems to be attention to detail. An Apple store feels more like high end fashion boutique, than a small “electronics shop.”