Apple has removed the word “store” from the names of its retail locations.  This suggests Apple may be thinking about itself less as a product company and more as an experience brand.  This video analyzes the significance of this change and gives you a look at the retail customer experience at the new Apple Union Square in […]

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brand-as-business bit:  In a recent feature, Bloomberg Businessweek detailed “The Battle for Best Buy, the Incredible Shrinking Big Box.”  It was an informative piece about the retailer’s challenges but what caught my eye were the stats outlining key retail metrics: first, real estate — Costco leads the pack of featured retailers at $1,031 and GameStop […]

(Here’s the latest in my series of Brand Experience Briefs — insights and analysis from my audits of new and interesting retail or restaurant concepts.) With a name like “Retail Center for Innovation and Technology Center,” there’s no question the new store from AT&T is intended to be like no other.  And, it is indeed remarkable (a […]

microsoft exterior
07.20.10

mirror universe

Those of you who are Star Trek fans would have felt right at home with me the other day.   I went to check out the new Microsoft store which just opened at Fashion Valley mall here in San Diego because I wanted to do a compare/contrast to the Apple store in the same mall.   My […]