Dubai
When Apple launched its retail operations in the Middle East in 2015, many expected them to open at The Dubai Mall, a flagship destination for tourists and local shoppers alike. Instead, the company chose to open at the Mall of the Emirates and Yas Mall.
So when Apple announced last month it was opening a Dubai Mall store, it quickly became clear that the maker of the iPhone and the iPad was going for something special. While the other Apple stories were milestones for the company in their own right — they were the first Apple stores to open in the Middle East — the Dubai Mall store is on different scale. It covers two levels and is located in a prime location, adjacent to the Dubai Fountain.
Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice-president in charge of the retail division, said it approached the Dubai Mall with more than just retail on its mind. She said the company didn’t just need another store; it wanted something deserving of the location — a major tourism hub that sees millions of people each year.
“[Apple Stores are] not any different than any of Apple’s products,” Ahrendts said in an interview with Gulf News before its official opening. “It’s not always about being the first. It’s about being the best and in our case its about having the best.
“This is the number one mall in the region — if not the world — with 80 million people visiting ... then we need the best.”
There is little arguing that Apple’s latest is intended to be a flagship store for the region. The layout bears a strong resemblance to its flagship one in San Francisco. Both share similar designs, including open façades and large areas dedicated to classes (or sessions).
The Dubai Mall store opens directly on to the Dubai Fountain and offers views of both Dubai Opera and Burj Khalifa.
In designing the stores Ahrendts says the company wants them to have touches that are locally relevant. The Dubai Mall store has large “solar wings” that are designed to make visitors think of falcons. The wings however also serve to provide shade. The wings are 37-feet tall, made of carbon fibre, and, according to Apple, are the “largest kinetic art installation in the world”.
Ahrendts says the way that Apple designs its stores is an iterative process, but one that includes hundreds of prototypes and decision making at every level.
“You’re always balancing form and function. [The wings] had to serve a purpose but they had to be beautiful,” says Ahrendts, who was a former CEO at Burberry. “Emotionally you want it to also be very relevant ... but then it also going all the way down to what colour it should be.”
The design of the store, which includes an area that resembles a classroom filled with cushions and chairs, is part of a global trend in malls — albeit one that is still slowly making its way into regional malls. Brick-and-mortar retailers are increasingly finding ways of integrating entertainment and education services into their offerings.
“Here’s my thing. You can come to learn, you can come to be inspired, just come and be entertained,” Ahrendts says. “It doesn’t matter, but at some point in time you might [say], “I might want to go deeper into coding. I can do that.”
“Most people you ask think “I could never code.” No, you could. Why not take a simple session and see. Who knows where it might lead? We just want to spark imagination and we do know the physical space — it has to do something and be something: an experience, a place for people to connect.”
While Apple is known for its stores, its online sales were an estimated $16.8 billion (Dh61.7 billion) over the last year, according to data. That figure makes Apple the third largest e-commerce business in the world, trailing only Amazon and Wal-Mart. Apple’s declared net income for the first quarter of 2017 was $17.8 billion.
Apple, of course, is using its physical spaces and classes to promote its products and services. In particular it wants people to discover what their products can do, especially in terms of art and photography.
“We still know that people can do so much more with their products that they don’t even know about,” Ahrendts said. “They’re using such a small percentage of them, but we also know in the future that the creative arts are going to become more and more important.”
Ahrendts said the Apple’s “loves” having its UAE operations serve as a hub in the region. Its regional headquarter is located here, its channel business is based in the UAE, and there is even an iTunes office in the country.
But Ahrendts won’t say when or where or even if the company is looking to expand further in the Middle East. “We actually look at the top 100 cities in the world, and we just want to make sure that in those top cities Apple have this incredible presence, where everyone including the APRs [Apple Premium Resellers] can come in and see everything — the world of Apple if you will.
“So if one of the cities in the region happens to make it in the top 100, then it might be an area we look to invest in.”
