The Fifth Avenue Apple Store: A Wild Success and a Transformative Project

Part of the deal that Apple struck with Macklowe, the property owner, was to determine what percentage of their sales Apple would pay to Macklowe. The agreement included deciding on this percentage as part of the business deal. And as it turned out, Apple made out like bandits since their fifth avenue store performance was unprecedented.

The store's first year attracted 50,000 visitors a day, totaling 18.2 million people, making it Apple's most popular store in the world at the time. But what about revenue? Because making money is what retail's about after all. The fifth avenue Apple store alone ended up bringing in an average of one million dollars each day. And that's after Apple paid rent and a percentage of the store's profit to Macklowe.

The transformation of the GM building also had significant social impacts on the neighborhood. Not only did this make the property look more appealing, but it also drove higher foot traffic, attracting more high-end luxury stores looking to replicate the success of the fifth avenue Apple store. The store wasn't only a wild success for Apple but also for the property owner and the neighborhood that surrounded it.

However, this was only the beginning. Since Apple revamped their fifth avenue store multiple times in the following years. The first update came in 2011, when Apple spent $6.6 million to rebuild the glass cube using just 15 panes of glass instead of 90. This seemed like a relatively insignificant change compared to the major renovations Apple began making to the store six years later in 2017.

The 2017 fifth avenue project was much more involved and complex than its predecessor. It took over two years to finally complete, but it was time well spent, as the improvements made to the store were absolutely stunning. Apple actually opened a temporary location for the fifth avenue store just steps away from the original, thanks in large part to great timing. The FAO Schwarz toy store located in the GM building behind the Apple Store vacated the property due to high rent, and Apple was able to simply buy the location and continue offering their products and services without much disruption to customers.

The 2017 fifth avenue renovation was a game-changer for the store. It featured portholes in the ceiling that not only let in more natural light than before but also integrated LED lights that automatically shift their color temperature to match the natural light, creating a cooler effect. The portholes also carpeted the plaza and doubled as chrome benches for people to sit and perhaps even peek inside. And instead of stairs and an elevator made of glass, Apple opted for chrome, which was said to help reflect the greenery surrounding the store.

The addition of a HomePod room in the remodeled store was another notable feature that gave visitors a chance to experience stereo sound. This was something truly impressive, especially considering the innovative technology that went into creating this space. Another interesting aspect of the renovation were the photos that lined the hallway to the backroom and bathrooms, featuring the old store, the construction process, and the new store. These photos served as a reminder of Apple's commitment to preserving their history while also embracing the future.

The remodeled fifth avenue store is twice as big and has higher ceilings than its predecessor. This was important since the number of visitors to this location has only been growing. The store continues to be one of the company's most impressive locations, and I highly encourage anyone in the area to visit and check it out for themselves.

Apple Store Road Trip

I actually went on a road trip with my younger brother to see the store for myself the day it opened. It was an unforgettable experience, not only because Tim Cook and Deirdre O'Brien were there to commemorate the occasion but also because people from across the world stopped by to see the store in person.

In the video, I'll talk more about what makes this remodeled store so special. But for now, let's just say that it's a testament to Apple's commitment to creating an experience that's not only functional but also beautiful and memorable.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enApple has a reputation of building some ofthe coolest, most futuristic retail storesin the world. This location in Dubai featurescarbon fiber Solar Wings that automaticallyopen and close to cool down the space. Thisstore in Milan features a stunning water fountaindisplay that welcomes visitors as they enter.And one of my favorite locations is this onein Shanghai which utilizes patented curvedglass panels to achieve its unique cylindricalshape. But the most iconic Apple Store inthe world is in New York City on Fifth Avenue.Sitting just a few steps from central park,it’s likely one of the highest traffic storesin the country. And you can get an understandingof just how important this store is to Appleby considering its history. Which is exactlywhat we’re going to cover. This is Gregwith Apple Explained, and if you want to helpdecide which topics I cover, make sure you’resubscribed, and these voting polls will showup in your mobile activity feed.Now let’s start off by exploring where theconcept of a glass cube-shaped Apple Storecame from in the first place. It turns outJobs always had the idea in the back of hishead, but he wasn’t sure where the flagshipstore should be located. That is, until Jobsmet with Harry Macklowe, a New York City realestate developer. Macklowe had recently purchasedthe most expensive office building in NorthAmerica at the time. The General Motors buildingin Manhattan, which cost him 1.4 billion dollars.But there was one problem with the propertythat discouraged many other developers frominvesting. And that was the plaza that satdirectly in front of the building. There werea couple issues with this space. First, itwas considered by most architects to be toolarge for a simple plaza, but too small toplace another skyscraper. Second, it containeda basement that was never even used. Thiswas due to the plaza being sunken when itwas first built, but subsequently raised afterthe area failed to attract many pedestrians.So Macklowe had a problem on his hands. Howcould this awkward, aging plaza be transformedinto a modern shopping area? Well, he hadone company in mind that could offer a solution,and that was Apple. Because not only had theymade an aggressive and successful entranceinto the retail market two years earlier,but Apple’s retail stores served as stylish,modern spaces which housed some of the coolesttech products in the world. So convincingApple to build their flagship store on theGM plaza became Macklowe’s top priority.He started by contacting George Blankenship,Apple’s vice-president of real estate, totry and set up a meeting with Jobs. He wassuccessful, and quickly flew out to Cupertinoto discuss what would become one of the mosticonic retail stores in the world. Macklowebrought with him his longtime design partnerDan Shannon and the architects from the firmBohlin Cywinski Jackson, who designed theApple Store in Soho.This meeting is where Jobs shared his ideafor store’s glass cube design, completewith a model of the GM building, Apple store,and plaza to clearly demonstrate his visionfor the space. Macklowe immediately lovedthe idea, especially since it made perfectuse of the challenging space. Not only coulda glass cube be perfectly proportioned forthe plaza’s size, but Apple’s retail spacewould actually be located underground. Finallymaking use of the location’s awkward basementarea which had been empty for almost a decade.But Macklowe recognized an issue Steve Job’sdesign right away. The glass cube was simplytoo big. Jobs wanted a 40 foot cube. Whichwould not only obscure the GM building, butinvite protest from tenants and cause zoningissues with the city. But Macklowe knew hecouldn’t break this news to Jobs himself,since it would likely fall on deaf ears. Soinstead, Macklowe helped Jobs discover thisissue himself. He did this by constructinga scaffolding mockup of the cube to give Applean idea of its scale, and once their retailexecutives saw the mockup in person, theyagreed that it should be smaller.Now it’s important to note just how involvedSteve Jobs was in every step of the store’sdevelopment. He helped decided what type ofstone would be used for the plaza and orderedworkers to replace the metal bolts holdingtogether the glass panels. Jobs was so excitedabout the store that he built a mockup ofhis own in the parking lot of Apple’s headquarters.He was so involved in the project that heeventually developed a friendship with Macklowe,who offered Jobs an office in the GM building.But Jobs refused, saying, “When I come toNew York, I want to be in Soho. I want tobe in Chelsea. I want to be surrounded byyoung people. So I can listen to what they’rethinking. I want to have new ideas.”On May 19, 2006 the 32 foot glass cube onfifth avenue was unveiled to the public. Itfeatured an illuminated white, floating Applelogo and a glass staircase spiraling arounda cylindrical glass elevator. Not only didthis liberal use of glass make the store lookgood and feel more spacious, but it serveda functional purpose as well, by allowingsunlight to shine down into the store. Apple’sretail executive Ron Johnson explained theconcept well, saying, “the glass cube wasdesigned to let in light and ambiance throughoutthe day. When I’m under here canopied bythe cube I feel like I’m in a public space.”And that concept is important to remembersince it helped inform all of the store’ssubsequent updates. It’s also importantto point out that when Apple opened this fifthavenue location, they’d only been in retailfor five years and hadn’t yet opened a flagshipstore. So neither Apple nor Macklowe had anaccurate frame of reference to predict howthe store would perform. They simply had tomeasure the earnings of surrounding storeswhile drawing up a business deal. Part ofthat deal was deciding what percentage oftheir sales Apple would pay to Macklowe, theproperty owner. And as it would turn out,Apple made out like bandits since their fifthavenue store performance was unprecedented.Although Apple and Macklowe had high hopes,all of their expectations were shattered whenthe numbers came in for the store’s firstyear.It ended up attracting 50,000 visitors a day,which totaled 18.2 million people. Makingthe store Apple’s most popular in the worldat the time. But what about revenue? Becausemaking money is what retail’s about afterall. Well, the fifth avenue Apple store aloneended up bringing in an average of one milliondollars each day. And that’s after Applepaid rent and a percentage of the stores profitsto Macklowe. But it’s also important toconsider the store’s social impacts. Notonly did this transformation of the GM buildingmake the property look more appealing anddrive higher foot traffic, but it also attractedmore high end luxury stores looking to replicatethe kind of success Apple had.So the fifth avenue Apple store wasn’t onlya wild success for Apple, but also the propertyowner and the neighborhood that surroundedit. But the truth is, this was only the beginning.Since Apple would revamp their fifth avenuestore multiple times in the following years.The first update came in 2011, when Applespent 6.6 million dollars to rebuild the glasscube using just 15 panes of glass insteadof 90. But that was seemingly insignificantcompared to the major renovations Apple beganmaking to the store six years later in 2017.This time they actually opened a temporarylocation for the fifth avenue store just stepsaway from the original. And that was in largepart due to great timing. The FAO Shwarz toystore located in the GM building behind theApple Store actually vacated the propertydue to high rent just in time for Apple’srenovation project. So Apple was able to simplybuy the location and continue offering theirproducts and services without much disruptionto customers. And this was important, sincethe 2017 fifth avenue project was much moreinvolved and complex than in 2011.No one knew at the time what Apple had instore for the location. They didn’t evenreveal how long the project would last. Butit turned out that the fifth avenue renovationwould take over two years to finally complete.And it was time well spent, because the improvementsmade to the store were absolutely stunning.I actually went on a road trip with my youngerbrother to see this store for myself the dayit opened, and it really was an unforgettableexperience. Not only was Tim Cook and DeirdreO’Brian there to commemorate the occasion,but people from across the world stopped byto see the store in person.But first let’s talk about what makes thisremodeled store so special. As I mentionedearlier in the video, Apple’s always wantedthis store to feel open, spacious, and bright.Which is especially important since the storeis underground. And they were able to achievethis in a few ways. First, there are portholesin the ceiling that not only let in much morenatural light than before, but feature integratedLED lights that automatically shift theircolor temperature to match the natural light.That way cooler natural light won’t clashwith warmer artificial light. But what’seven cooler are what the portholes look likeoutside the store. They carpet the plaza andgive it a futuristic glow, while also doublingas chrome benches for people to sit and perhapseven peak inside. And instead of stairs andan elevator made of glass, Apple instead optedfor chrome. Which I was told helps reflectthe greenery, which there’s quite a bitof. Not only are there trees in the middleof the store, but there are also these wallsof greenery around the perimeter where visitorscan sit and charge their devices.But something I found very interesting wasthe addition this HomePod room, which gavevisitors a chance to experience stereo soundfeature, which I admit was quite impressive.Another cool touch were the photos that linedthe hallway to the backroom and bathrooms.They featured the old store, the constructionprocess, and the new store. It’s also worthnoting that the remodeled fifth avenue storeis twice as big and has higher ceilings whichis important since the number of visitorsto this location has only been growing. Sothe fifth avenue Apple Store continues tobe one of the company’s most impressivelocations, and I highly encourage anyone inthe area to visit and check it out for themselves.Alright guys thanks for watching and I’llsee you next time.\n"