The Online Apple Store: A History of Innovation and Competition
When it comes to ordering tech products from a website, there's really no better place to do it than the online Apple Store. Not only does it look and work better than competing sites from Dell and Microsoft, but it also has helpful capabilities like live chatting with an associate, reserving products for in-store pickup, or getting value estimates on your trade-ins. But have you ever wondered how the online Apple Store came to be? The answer lies in a fascinating story of innovation, competition, and a little bit of history.
The Early Days of Online Shopping
In the 90s, before there were any retail Apple stores, but after competitors had already established their e-commerce presence, Dell became one of the first companies to create an online store. Led by CEO Michael Dell, Dell's online store was a game-changer in the tech industry. The company helped build an online store that boosted sales and gave Dell a leg up over other PC manufacturers. However, this success also led to a very competitive relationship between Steve Jobs and Michael Dell.
The Feud Between Steve Jobs and Michael Dell
Steve Jobs' computer company called NeXT, which he founded after leaving Apple in 1985, actually had Dell as one of their clients. But what exactly did NeXT do for Dell? Well, they helped the tech giant build an online store, which ended up being very successful. However, this success also led to a heated rivalry between Steve Jobs and Michael Dell. In 1997, when asked what he would do to fix Apple, Michael Dell made a comment that would fuel their competitive relationship. He said, "I'd shut it down and give them money back to the shareholders."
The Misconstrued Comment
Michael Dell later clarified his statement, saying that he would have closed down Apple if he were already CEO of Dell and couldn't imagine leading any other company. However, this clarification came 14 years too late. Steve Jobs was outraged by Michael Dell's comment, and immediately targeted Dell as the computer company to beat. Apple decided to mount their first attack by building an online store that would be even better than Dell's.
Building a Better Online Store
But in order to achieve this goal, Apple had to completely transform their slow and antiquated production system. Steve Jobs quickly recognized the benefits of just-in-time manufacturing, a logistics technique used by Dell to reduce waste and waiting times. By utilizing this approach, Dell could manufacture and deliver computers in just a couple of weeks, rather than the industry average of three months. This also allowed them to include the latest processor from Intel before anyone else, giving them a distinct advantage in the market.
Steve Jobs poached one of the best production experts in the computer industry, Tim Cook, who had served as chief operating officer of Intelligent Electronics and later joined Compaq in 1997. Steve Jobs wanted Cook on board to optimize Apple's production process, but there was only one issue - Cook wasn't looking for a job. He was already six months into his Vice President role at Compaq, and leaving one of the most successful computer companies to join Apple would be career suicide.
Cook's Eagerness to Meet Steve Jobs
However, thanks to Cook's eagerness to meet Steve Jobs in person, they ended up having a conversation about the future of computing and how Apple could lead the industry. Cook was deeply moved by their meeting and decided to throw caution to the wind. He quit his job at Compaq and became Apple's chief operating officer in 1998.
Modernizing Apple's Production System
One of Cook's first tasks was to modernize Apple's inventory system and supply chain, so that they could build computers even faster than Dell. After several months of work, Steve Jobs announced the launch of Apple's new online store during a keynote, saying "I guess what we want to tell you, Michael, is that with our new products and our new store and our new build-to-order manufacturing, we're coming after you, buddy."
The Launch of the Online Apple Store
The online Apple Store was launched in 1998, marking a significant turning point in the company's history. With its sleek design and user-friendly interface, the website quickly became one of the most popular e-commerce sites in the tech industry. The launch of the online store also marked the beginning of Apple's shift towards becoming an e-commerce powerhouse.
Today, the online Apple Store is a testament to Steve Jobs' vision and determination. It has become an essential part of the company's success, offering customers a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience. Whether you're looking for a new iPhone, MacBook, or iPad, the online Apple Store has got you covered. So next time you visit the website, remember the fascinating history behind it - from Dell to Steve Jobs' competitive relationship with Michael Dell, and how Cook's eagerness to meet Steve Jobs changed the course of Apple's history.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enWhen it comes to ordering tech products froma website, there’s really no better placeto do it than the online Apple Store.Not only does it look and work better thancompeting sites from Dell and Microsoft, butit also has helpful capabilities like livechatting with an associate, reserving productsfor in-store pickup, or getting value estimateson your trade-ins.But the online Apple Store hasn’t alwaysbeen so cutting edge.In fact, Apple wasn’t even the first computercompany to create an online store.So in this video, we’re going to explorethe history of the online Apple Store andfind out how it became the e-commerce powerhouseit is today.This is Greg with Apple Explained, and I wantto thank Squarespace for sponsoring this video.If you want to help decide which topics Icover, make sure you’re subscribed, andvoting polls like this one will show up inyour mobile activity feed.Now, the beginnings of the online Apple Storeactually go back to the 90’s.Before there were any retail Apple stores,but after competitors had already establishedtheir e-commerce presence.And one of those companies who created anonline store before Apple, was Dell, led byCEO Michael Dell.And if you don’t already know, Steve Jobsand Michael Dell had a very competitive relationshipback then due to a couple of things.First, Steve Jobs’ computer company calledNeXT, which he founded after leaving AppleDin 1985, actually had Dell as one of theirclients.And what exactly did NeXT do for Dell?Well, they helped the tech giant build anonline store.Which ended up being very successful by boostingsales and giving Dell a leg up over otherPC manufacturers.So what caused the bad blood between Jobsand Dell?Well, it had everything to do with this commentmade by Michael Dell in 1997 when asked whathe would do to fix Apple.He said, “I'd shut it down and give themoney back to the shareholders.”Now in 2011 Dell mentioned that his commentwas misconstrued.Clarifying that he would’ve closed downApple since he was already CEO of Dell andcouldn’t imagine leading any other company.Not because he didn’t have any respect forSteve Jobs or Apple.But that clarification came fourteen yearstoo late.Steve Jobs was outraged by Michael Dell’scomment, and immediately targeted Dell asthe computer company to beat.Apple decided to mount their first attackby building an online store that would beeven better than Dell’s.But in order to achieve that goal Apple wouldhave to completely transform their slow andantiquated production system.You see, Dell was founded as a direct-orderbusiness with no retail presence.Instead of buying Dell computers in stores,customers would call the company directly,or place an order on their website.And this unique sales approach allowed Dellto utilize a logistics technique called justin time manufacturing.Which reduced waste and waiting times by creatingproducts when they were needed, rather thanmanufacturing them in advance.That’s exactly why Dell could manufactureand deliver a computer it in just a coupleweeks, rather than the industry average ofthree months.It also meant Dell could include somethinglike the latest processor from Intel beforeanyone else, giving them a distinct advantagein the market.Steve Jobs quickly recognized the benefitsof just in time manufacturing and poachedone of the best production experts in thecomputer industry, a man named Tim Cook.Cook had served as chief operating officerof Intelligent Electronics before joiningCompaq in 1997.Which, at the time, was one of the biggest,most profitable computer companies in theworld.Steve Jobs wanted Cook on board to optimizeApple’s production process, but there wasjust one issue.Cook wasn’t looking for a job.He was already six months into his Vice Presidentrole at Compaq, and leaving one of the mostsuccessful computer companies to join Apple,a company on the verge of bankruptcy, wouldbe career suicide.But that didn’t stop Jobs from trying.Thanks to Cook’s eagerness to meet SteveJobs in person, they ended up having a conversationabout the future of computing and how Applecould lead the industry.Cook was deeply moved and decided to throwcaution to the wind.He quit his job at Compaq and became Apple’schief operating officer in 1998.One of Cook’s first tasks was to modernizeApple’s inventory system and supply chainso that they could build computers even fasterthan Dell.After several months of work, Steve Jobs announcedthe launch of Apple’s new online store duringa keynote, saying “I guess what we wantto tell you, Michael, is that with our newproducts and our new store and our new build-to-ordermanufacturing, we're coming after you, buddy.\"And that’s exactly what they did.But before I talk about the store on Apple’swebsite, I’d like to take a minute to mentionmy website, appleexplained.com.And although it isn’t full of content, itdoes have a very important purpose.It allowed me to buy the appleexplained.comdomain before anyone else, and therefore claima custom email address, info@appleexplained.com.And I was able to claim my domain name, buildmy website, and create a custom email addressall with the same service.And that’s Squarespace.I’ve been using Squarespace for over a yearnow after switching between other services,and I’m really happy with what they haveto offer.Squarespace had the highest number of websitetemplates to choose from and they’re alloptimized for mobile so I didn’t have todo any extra work for that.And when I wanted to sell a merch productI was able to add an e-commerce store to mysite without starting from scratch.Plus the payment processor was built in andI could print shipping labels straight fromSquarespace as well.When I say it’s an all-in-one platform,I really mean it.And you can get all this for cheaper thanyou might think, especially if you use thelink squarespace.com/appleexplained sinceyou’ll get 10% off your first purchase,you can find that link in the description.Now, Apple’s online store was not only sleekand fast, but also delivered orders in recordtime thanks to Cook’s work on the company’snew and improved manufacturing system.Effectively beating Dell at their own game.In its first thirty days of sales, Apple’sonline store generated twelve million dollarsin revenue.But they didn’t stop there, Apple also employeda retail strategy that paid off in 2001 whenthey opened their first stores in Tysons,Virginia and Glendale, California.Over 7,700 people visited the stores duringtheir opening weekends, spending a total ofnearly $600,000.But the success of their online and retailstores didn’t cause Apple to become complacent.Instead, they invested even more resourcesin growing and refining their stores to stayat the forefront of the industry.Now, at this time, Apple treated their retailand online stores as completely differententities.In fact, each one had their own Vice President.Jennifer Bailey was in charge of Apple’sonline store, while Ron Johnson was the headof retail stores.And believe it or not, there was very littleoverlap between the two.This philosophy was even reflected on Apple’sown website for over a decade.Until 2015, apple.com had a dedicated ‘Store’tab that separated the online shopping experiencefrom the rest of the site.So if you wanted to learn about the iPhone,you clicked the iPhone tab.But if you wanted to buy an iPhone, you clickedthe Store tab, and then navigated to the iPhonesection.It was a pretty convoluted process that waseventually sorted out in 2015 when Tim Cookdecided to take a new approach to their stores.Instead of distinguishing between online andretail, Apple would blur the line betweenboth.That’s why, when hiring Angela Ahrendts,former CEO of Burberry, Tim Cook combine theroles of online and retail into one positioncalled Senior Vice President of Retail andOnline Stores.This new approach, led by Ahrendts, resultedin many changes.Instead of a separate ‘store’ tab on theirwebsite, Apple integrated the buying experienceinto each product page.This not only made the site easier to navigate,but also made the transition from learningabout a product to actually buying it muchmore intuitive.Also, further integration of Apple’s retailand online stores allowed for features thatweren’t previously possible.Like reserving a product for in-store pickup,or skipping lines for a new iPhone launchby preordering it online instead.But the popularity of Apple’s online storehas led to some positive and negative unintendedconsequences.For example, its become a very effective amarketing tool, but not in the way you mightthink.Apple is one of the most secretive tech companiesin the world, with products that are in veryhigh demand.So it makes sense that analysts closely trackthe company’s every move for any signs ofa new product release, including supply chainand inventory trends.But there’s no clearer sign of an updatethan when Apple’s online store goes downfor maintenance.Once visitors see the usual “We’ll beback” placeholder, it almost always meansApple is adding new products to the site.Which immediately causes excitement in thetech community and speculation about whatmight be released.So while creating this hype may not have beena goal of Apple’s online store, it definitelyhas that effect regardless.But attention isn’t always a good thing.Because back in 2019, the online Apple storewas bombarded by one star reviews from somepretty upset users who were having issueswith Apple branded USB-C adapters.As you probably know, every MacBook modelnow features USB-C ports exclusively, andthat has led to people relying on Apple’sadapters to connect HDMI projectors, SD cards,thumb drives, and more.But theses adapters haven’t been performingreliably, so customers expressed their frustrationby posting one star reviews on Apple’s onlinestore.This led to many articles and even YouTubevideos bringing attention to the problem,which was something Apple certainly didn’twant.So in November of 2019, the user reviews featureof the online store was removed.Effectively silencing critics of Apple’sUSB-C adapters, and giving the company morecontrol over how customers perceive theirproducts.So while Apple is experiencing more salessuccess on their online store than ever before,it didn’t come without a price.Risks taken by Jobs and Cook back in the 90’sended up paying off, and laid a strong foundationfor others like Jennifer Bailey and AngelaAhrendts to take things even further.Today, Deirdre O’Brian is in charge of Apple’sretail and online stores, and only time willtell how her leadership will impact customersshopping experience.Alright guys thanks for watching and I’llsee you next time.\n"
