Professor Elam

Apple has done just the opposite of what DELL did in 2001 – Apple is benchmarking five star hotels for the atmosphere it wants in an Apple Store.  When DELL had a store in Austin, it was the worst of San’s meets the Clearance Basement sale, crowded, no help, a mob scene.  Then DELL gave up on stores and went 100% on line.  Then HPQ came roaring back with in store sales.

Now DELL is in WMT, gee, click on the Apple hyper link to see the diference. I had trouble with the plug ins the second time but to say the least this is ellegance MAX!  An article in the Dallas paper reports that Apple have removed cash registers, assistants now have hand held scanners which e mail a receipt or print one out under a counter. So now there is more room for help desks.  There is even a Concierge to greet and direct you when entering Apple Stores.

So, what is Apple establishing with this approach? How is this different From DELL in WMT?  What is the perception left in the mind of the shopper in each store for the respective product?  Note, iPods are avaialbe on line at WMT, an interesting strategy,  though one can get i Pods at Costco and Radio Shack.  My point is that Apple has adopted the Dr. Deming TQM long term strategy of a premium product in a premium location. ala Neiman’s or Double Tree Hotels.  DELL meanwhile has jumped from one strategy to another only to fall behind its rivals. In fact, many would probably say that Apple and DELL are no longer serving the same markets, what say you?