The weekend before last I paid a short pilgrimage to the new Apple Store in Pudong, Shanghai. It’s Apple’s second store on the mainland (the other is in Beijing) and as with many of its other stores, the facade sports a cylindrical glass entrance with glass stairs which lead down to the brightly lit subterranean shop floor below.
The store is surrounded by towering skyscrapers dwarfing the sunken protrusion in the centre. As with everything Apple, the design of the outside is minimal, verging on cold. If Apple was a religion then this is its temple.
Ladies in short skirts beware; you’ll probably want to watch your step closely here!
Internally the store is just like all the others; large wooden tables display each product line with relaxed staff on hand to assist. A lot of people were there to enjoy the free internet but I bet a good number convert into sales.
These cute kids were attending an Apple Summer Camp where they get to learn how to edit their own movies and presentations etc. You have to wonder if this is a soft form of consumer brainwashing but I wish they had them when I was a kid!
The store was really busy when I visited; so much in fact that they looked like they could do with some more staff. This might have been to do with the release of the wifi-enabled iPhone 3GS though. All in all a beautifully designed space but perhaps a bit generic/sterile.
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