Apple has a reputation of building some of
the coolest, most futuristic retail stores
in the world. This location in Dubai features
carbon fiber Solar Wings that automatically
open and close to cool down the space. This
store in Milan features a stunning water fountain
display that welcomes visitors as they enter.
And one of my favorite locations is this one
in Shanghai which utilizes patented curved
glass panels to achieve its unique cylindrical
shape. But the most iconic Apple Store in
the world is in New York City on Fifth Avenue.
Sitting just a few steps from central park,
it’s likely one of the highest traffic stores
in the country. And you can get an understanding
of just how important this store is to Apple
by considering its history. Which is exactly
what we’re going to cover. This is Greg
with Apple Explained, and if you want to help
decide which topics I cover, make sure you’re
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up in your mobile activity feed.
Now let’s start off by exploring where the
concept of a glass cube-shaped Apple Store
came from in the first place. It turns out
Jobs always had the idea in the back of his
head, but he wasn’t sure where the flagship
store should be located. That is, until Jobs
met with Harry Macklowe, a New York City real
estate developer. Macklowe had recently purchased
the most expensive office building in North
America at the time. The General Motors building
in Manhattan, which cost him 1.4 billion dollars.
But there was one problem with the property
that discouraged many other developers from
investing. And that was the plaza that sat
directly in front of the building. There were
a couple issues with this space. First, it
was considered by most architects to be too
large for a simple plaza, but too small to
place another skyscraper. Second, it contained
a basement that was never even used. This
was due to the plaza being sunken when it
was first built, but subsequently raised after
the area failed to attract many pedestrians.
So Macklowe had a problem on his hands. How
could this awkward, aging plaza be transformed
into a modern shopping area? Well, he had
one company in mind that could offer a solution,
and that was Apple. Because not only had they
made an aggressive and successful entrance
into the retail market two years earlier,
but Apple’s retail stores served as stylish,
modern spaces which housed some of the coolest
tech products in the world. So convincing
Apple to build their flagship store on the
GM plaza became Macklowe’s top priority.
He started by contacting George Blankenship,
Apple’s vice-president of real estate, to
try and set up a meeting with Jobs. He was
successful, and quickly flew out to Cupertino
to discuss what would become one of the most
iconic retail stores in the world. Macklowe
brought with him his longtime design partner
Dan Shannon and the architects from the firm
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, who designed the
Apple Store in Soho.
This meeting is where Jobs shared his idea
for store’s glass cube design, complete
with a model of the GM building, Apple store,
and plaza to clearly demonstrate his vision
for the space. Macklowe immediately loved
the idea, especially since it made perfect
use of the challenging space. Not only could
a glass cube be perfectly proportioned for
the plaza’s size, but Apple’s retail space
would actually be located underground. Finally
making use of the location’s awkward basement
area which had been empty for almost a decade.
But Macklowe recognized an issue Steve Job’s
design right away. The glass cube was simply
too big. Jobs wanted a 40 foot cube. Which
would not only obscure the GM building, but
invite protest from tenants and cause zoning
issues with the city. But Macklowe knew he
couldn’t break this news to Jobs himself,
since it would likely fall on deaf ears. So
instead, Macklowe helped Jobs discover this
issue himself. He did this by constructing
a scaffolding mockup of the cube to give Apple
an idea of its scale, and once their retail
executives saw the mockup in person, they
agreed that it should be smaller.
Now it’s important to note just how involved
Steve Jobs was in every step of the store’s
development. He helped decided what type of
stone would be used for the plaza and ordered
workers to replace the metal bolts holding
together the glass panels. Jobs was so excited
about the store that he built a mockup of
his own in the parking lot of Apple’s headquarters.
He was so involved in the project that he
eventually developed a friendship with Macklowe,
who offered Jobs an office in the GM building.
But Jobs refused, saying, “When I come to
New York, I want to be in Soho. I want to
be in Chelsea. I want to be surrounded by
young people. So I can listen to what they’re
thinking. I want to have new ideas.”
On May 19, 2006 the 32 foot glass cube on
fifth avenue was unveiled to the public. It
featured an illuminated white, floating Apple
logo and a glass staircase spiraling around
a cylindrical glass elevator. Not only did
this liberal use of glass make the store look
good and feel more spacious, but it served
a functional purpose as well, by allowing
sunlight to shine down into the store. Apple’s
retail executive Ron Johnson explained the
concept well, saying, “the glass cube was
designed to let in light and ambiance throughout
the day. When I’m under here canopied by
the cube I feel like I’m in a public space.”
And that concept is important to remember
since it helped inform all of the store’s
subsequent updates. It’s also important
to point out that when Apple opened this fifth
avenue location, they’d only been in retail
for five years and hadn’t yet opened a flagship
store. So neither Apple nor Macklowe had an
accurate frame of reference to predict how
the store would perform. They simply had to
measure the earnings of surrounding stores
while drawing up a business deal. Part of
that deal was deciding what percentage of
their sales Apple would pay to Macklowe, the
property owner. And as it would turn out,
Apple made out like bandits since their fifth
avenue store performance was unprecedented.
Although Apple and Macklowe had high hopes,
all of their expectations were shattered when
the numbers came in for the store’s first
year.
It ended up attracting 50,000 visitors a day,
which totaled 18.2 million people. Making
the store Apple’s most popular in the world
at the time. But what about revenue? Because
making money is what retail’s about after
all. Well, the fifth avenue Apple store alone
ended up bringing in an average of one million
dollars each day. And that’s after Apple
paid rent and a percentage of the stores profits
to Macklowe. But it’s also important to
consider the store’s social impacts. Not
only did this transformation of the GM building
make the property look more appealing and
drive higher foot traffic, but it also attracted
more high end luxury stores looking to replicate
the kind of success Apple had.
So the fifth avenue Apple store wasn’t only
a wild success for Apple, but also the property
owner and the neighborhood that surrounded
it. But the truth is, this was only the beginning.
Since Apple would revamp their fifth avenue
store multiple times in the following years.
The first update came in 2011, when Apple
spent 6.6 million dollars to rebuild the glass
cube using just 15 panes of glass instead
of 90. But that was seemingly insignificant
compared to the major renovations Apple began
making to the store six years later in 2017.
This time they actually opened a temporary
location for the fifth avenue store just steps
away from the original. And that was in large
part due to great timing. The FAO Shwarz toy
store located in the GM building behind the
Apple Store actually vacated the property
due to high rent just in time for Apple’s
renovation project. So Apple was able to simply
buy the location and continue offering their
products and services without much disruption
to customers. And this was important, since
the 2017 fifth avenue project was much more
involved and complex than in 2011.
No one knew at the time what Apple had in
store for the location. They didn’t even
reveal how long the project would last. But
it turned out that the fifth avenue renovation
would take over two years to finally complete.
And it was time well spent, because the improvements
made to the store were absolutely stunning.
I actually went on a road trip with my younger
brother to see this store for myself the day
it opened, and it really was an unforgettable
experience. Not only was Tim Cook and Deirdre
O’Brian there to commemorate the occasion,
but people from across the world stopped by
to see the store in person.
But first let’s talk about what makes this
remodeled store so special. As I mentioned
earlier in the video, Apple’s always wanted
this store to feel open, spacious, and bright.
Which is especially important since the store
is underground. And they were able to achieve
this in a few ways. First, there are portholes
in the ceiling that not only let in much more
natural light than before, but feature integrated
LED lights that automatically shift their
color temperature to match the natural light.
That way cooler natural light won’t clash
with warmer artificial light. But what’s
even cooler are what the portholes look like
outside the store. They carpet the plaza and
give it a futuristic glow, while also doubling
as chrome benches for people to sit and perhaps
even peak inside. And instead of stairs and
an elevator made of glass, Apple instead opted
for chrome. Which I was told helps reflect
the greenery, which there’s quite a bit
of. Not only are there trees in the middle
of the store, but there are also these walls
of greenery around the perimeter where visitors
can sit and charge their devices.
But something I found very interesting was
the addition this HomePod room, which gave
visitors a chance to experience stereo sound
feature, which I admit was quite impressive.
Another cool touch were the photos that lined
the hallway to the backroom and bathrooms.
They featured the old store, the construction
process, and the new store. It’s also worth
noting that the remodeled fifth avenue store
is twice as big and has higher ceilings which
is important since the number of visitors
to this location has only been growing. So
the fifth avenue Apple Store continues to
be one of the company’s most impressive
locations, and I highly encourage anyone in
the area to visit and check it out for themselves.
Alright guys thanks for watching and I’ll
see you next time.
