Apple staffers go nuts on 3 continents
Hollering and high fives at store openings in Queensland, Montpellier and New York City
Running the gauntlet in Queensland, Australia. Image: Nodeblue
Someday Apple (AAPL) will open a store and no one will notice.
But we're not quite there yet.
The company held grand openings for new retail outlets on three continents Saturday — in Chermside, Australia; Montpellier, France; and New York City — and each was accompanied by huge crowds and predictably over-the-top staffers.
As the videos below the fold demonstrate, these events follow what is by now a well-rehearsed script. The customers queue up — true believers camping out overnight. When the lines reach critical mass (in the case of New York's Upper West Side store, stretching around several city blocks), someone gives a signal and the employees go nuts, running wild through the crowd, whooping and hollering and giving high fives. Then the final seconds are counted down, and the faithful enter sacred ground, greeted by a gauntlet of blue, black, orange, teal or fire-engine red.
All this for a free t-shirt.
Below: The videos.
Chermside, Queensland, Australia:
Montpellier, France:
New York City's Upper West Side, 1/2 hour before it opened:
No. 2 in line runs screaming through the gauntlet:
See also:
[Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter @philiped]
The reason there will always be a line is that going into an Apple store is — forgive me — a transformative experience. Outside the wind is howling and the clouds have formed, but inside the birds ponder chirping and the gentle breeze is refreshing.
You want to buy, buy. I want to look, fine. Touch it all, soak it up. If not today, then another time.
http://wereport.com
ex ped, you seem to have developed an uncanny knack of late for shooting yourself in your foot. And while I think resorting to flaming is just plain bad manners and deserves rebuke (kudos for a very humorous rebuke indeed, btw), I also don't see the necessity for making a statement like "All this for a free t-shirt".
I know you meant it to be funny, but it does minimalize the real story here. Interestingly, the previous line both amuses and references that deeper story. Perhaps that would have been a better place to end the story?
"Then the final seconds are counted down, and the faithful enter sacred ground, greeted by a gauntlet of blue, black, orange, teal or fire-engine red."
To an intelligent "moron".
"Thanks for your note, Irvine. But don't you think "moron" is getting a little stale? I'm sure if you gave it some thought you could do better. How about, for instance, fool, idiot, ass, blockhead, dunce, dolt, ignoramus, imbecile, cretin, dullard, simpleton, clod, nitwit, halfwit, dope, ninny, nincompoop, chump, dimwit (heh!), dingbat, dipstick, goober, coot, goon, dumbo, dummy, ditz, dumdum, fathead, numbskull, numbnuts, dunderhead, thickhead, airhead, flake, lamebrain, zombie, nerd, peabrain, birdbrain, jughead, jerk, donkey, twit, goat, dork, twerp, schmuck, bozo, boob, turkey, schlep, chowderhead, dumbhead, goofball, goof, goofus, galoot, lummox, klutz, putz, schlemiel, sap, meatball or dumb cluck?"
YOU ARE ALL OF THAT AND MORE. YOU ARE A SADIST AT TIMES AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM AND A SMART ASS TO BOOT.
Wow, never heard or seen such massive product following, this can't be motivated just by free T shirt to be there, it is surely the product appeal. Consumers are using iPod from long time this is customer satisfaction response leading to iPhone, iMac …….. Type wonderful products.
Apple has for sure real customer base and massive appeal.
This has been also reflected in Apple being best performing stock at Wall street . At $205 it is still great buy, wall street bulls see it reaching $300 soon.
16s into the Chermside video, wooh! Was totally worth waiting overnight to be first 10 into the store 
If you're going to state such a thing “Someday Apple (AAPL) will open a store and no one will notice.”, then you should proove it, because up untill know there hasn't been a single store of the now 281 stores that they have without a line with cheerings and emotion from people who not only do this for a tee-shirt but for the experience that these people want to have. If you don't like it, then you should really focus on writing about something you won't criticise with such ignorance and even better get a LIFE of you're own instead of pointing out how stupid it is to wait in line for a store!
Maybe MSFT could inspire similar enthusiasm at their store openings by giving away T-shirts featuring Clippy. The kids love him.
I retired 10 yrs ago from the US Aerospace Industry. I have always been interested in new technology products. Apple has become the "Apple of my Eye"…just great products and a great company. I have never, in my lifetime, seen such intense enthusiasm as I view the store openings…most amazing. Good luck Steve…your are truly amazing…
Dear Irvine, Ca,
As a long time Apple user (since Apple II) and an investor, I find this article entertaining. Nothing wrong with Mr. Dewitt's words.
All things move in cycle and some day, Apple will open a store and no one will notice.
As for the T-shirt comment, it is up for interpretation. I see it as a complement. Comparing to Microsoft's opening where it needed to give away concert tickets to draw any interest, consumers are willing to line up in the cold NYC rain for a few T-shirts. Most do not even care about the T-shirts.
Overall, this is a fun read. Thank you Mr. DeWitt. A fine start to a fine Autumn Saturday morning.
"Cliff Edwards survived this piece, entitled "Sorry, Steve: Here's Why Apple Stores Won't Work." He's still a correspondent in BusinessWeek's Silicon Valley bureau."
Which only proves that "financial" media writers, like Anal ists, can get paid no matter what BS flows from their computers.
Mr Elmo Dimwit,
Well, you have done it again. Your attempt to minimize the grand opening events for Apple's latest and greatest with loaded and false statements underline your challenged intellect.
You open with: “Someday Apple (AAPL) will open a store and no one will notice.”
And close with: “All this for a free t-shirt.”
You moron.
Irvine
ex ped: Thanks for your note, Irvine. But don't you think "moron" is getting a little stale? I'm sure if you gave it some thought you could do better. How about, for instance, fool, idiot, ass, blockhead, dunce, dolt, ignoramus, imbecile, cretin, dullard, simpleton, clod, nitwit, halfwit, dope, ninny, nincompoop, chump, dimwit (heh!), dingbat, dipstick, goober, coot, goon, dumbo, dummy, ditz, dumdum, fathead, numbskull, numbnuts, dunderhead, thickhead, airhead, flake, lamebrain, zombie, nerd, peabrain, birdbrain, jughead, jerk, donkey, twit, goat, dork, twerp, schmuck, bozo, boob, turkey, schlep, chowderhead, dumbhead, goofball, goof, goofus, galoot, lummox, klutz, putz, schlemiel, sap, meatball or dumb cluck?
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_21/b3733059.htm
ex ped: Thanks, Mr. Susky, for that flash from the past. Cliff Edwards survived this piece, entitled "Sorry, Steve: Here's Why Apple Stores Won't Work." He's still a correspondent in BusinessWeek's Silicon Valley bureau.
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/11/android-fragmentation/