PRESS RELEASE
July 17, 2002
Apple to Open Its First Retail Store in New York City
MACWORLD EXPO, NEW YORK—July 17, 2002—Apple’s first retail store in New York City will open in Manhattan’s SoHo district on Thursday, July 18 at 8:00 a.m. EDT. The SoHo store will be Apple’s largest retail store to date and is a stunning example of Apple’s commitment to offering customers the world’s best computer shopping experience.
“Fourteen months after opening our first retail store, our 31 stores are attracting over 100,000 visitors each week,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We hope our SoHo store will surprise and delight both Mac and PC users who want to see everything the Mac can do to enhance their digital lifestyles.”
Apple® opened its first retail store in May 2001 and currently has 31 stores in 17 states in the U.S. Based on statistics from Apple’s first year in retail, about half of those who buy a Mac® at an Apple store are new or returning to the Mac platform. For people who want to switch to the Mac, all Apple stores now feature a new “Welcome to Mac” section specifically designed to help customers interested in switching to the Mac or upgrading their systems. All Apple stores also offer free “Getting Started on a Mac” classes every Saturday, as well as technical assistance from resident Mac “Geniuses.”
The SoHo store has all the best features of other Apple retail stores, including the now famous Genius Bar where anyone can ask the Mac “Genius” questions, connect to the Mac community or receive service. The SoHo store’s enhanced features include:
- two twenty-foot Genius Bars, one of the most popular sections of Apple retail stores;
- expanded “solution centers” for music, photography and movies, with the latest Apple solutions for digital photography, music and movies. Visitors can create a slideshow of digital photos, make a digital music library, edit a video, burn a custom DVD and play the latest video games;
- an expanded kids section with 14 computer stations connected to the Internet;
- a software section with more than 900 software titles for the Mac; and
- a 46-seat theater, where customers can watch demonstrations of Apple’s latest innovations, take classes and attend “Made on a Mac” events.
Every Apple location offers free “Made on a Mac” events, featuring well-known photographers, authors, Hollywood producers, musicians and creative industry executives who speak about how they work and create content on a Mac. At the SoHo store, Apple will host celebrity guest speakers nearly every day for the first month it is open. Kicking off the series is celebrity photographer Greg Gorman on Thursday, July 18. A complete schedule of SoHo store events and classes is available at www.apple.com/retail/soho.
Customers who visit Apple’s retail stores are greeted by knowledgeable salespeople who can demonstrate Apple computers running innovative applications like iTunes™ and iMovie™, as well as Mac OS X, Apple’s revolutionary operating system. Each computer in every Apple store is connected to the Internet, and several are connected to digital lifestyle products that complement the Mac experience, such as digital cameras, digital camcorders and hand-held organizers. All Apple stores carry hundreds of third-party software titles for professionals and consumers and carry inventory for every Apple and third-party product displayed to ensure immediate fulfillment.
Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iTunes and iMovie are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.