Couple of stories catching my eye this morning:
The New York Times has a look Red Hook, Brooklyn, just a couple of months after the Ikea there opened. Many community residents were against the opening of this location, as they feared the traffic and noise impact on the local community. Ikea also tore down several historic buildings to make room for this location. But now, just two months after the retailer opened there, some residents in the community are finding positives in what Ikea has brought to the community.
Best Buy has announced a series of airport kiosks/vending machines that will dispense cell phone accessories and other portable electronics. Apple has had their own iPod vending machines in airports and other locations for a few years now and this model has, seemingly, worked well for them. This similar model should also prove to be a low-cost distribution channel for Best Buy.
Finally, Customer World is discussing social media in banking and the obstacles that it faces in adoption. Interesting views on an industry that has been slow to adopt social media and why customers would be reluctant to embrace social networking in banking.
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Just took a ride to the Freehold Mall, which is the closest Apple retail location. Long line outside the store, snaking it’s way down the center court and avoiding other stores. Probably 75 people in the line when I was there. A second line, with an additional 15-20 people, is located outside of the AT&T store, located just around the bend from the Apple store.
The Asbury Park Press has more on the crowd at the Freehold location. First person got in line at 4:00PM yesterday. Read more from Lines form as gadget fans get ready to scoop up iPhones.
The buzz around this product is building and I’m really interested to see one of thees myself. It’s hard, as a techie, to not get sucked in to the hype around this. From a retail perspective, it’s really incredible to see people who are willing to camp out and spend time to get the product. These are loyal customers, and sometimes, it doesn’t seem like too many retailers or brands have customers that loyal anymore.
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Just a few more days until Apple unveils the iPhone, in what is the most highly anticipated technology launch this year. I love the giant iPhones that Apple has in their retail windows:
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I haven’t been down to Atlantic City since The Pier at Caesar’s has opened. I just haven’t had the chance to make it down there. Not all the stores were open with the grand opening, so they’ve been having openings of new retailers all throughout the Summer. Today, the new Apple store opened to much fanfare. There’s good coverage, and photos, of this event over at O’Grady’s Powerpage.
See also: Is Atlantic City the next retail Mecca?
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I think that the integration of technology and fashion is awesome. With the proliferation of iPods and other digital music devices, fashion designers have more reason to offer some sort of convergence between fashion and technology.
The picture above is the first picture of the Levi Redwire DLX jeans, which contains an iPod port, a built in remote control, and retractable headphones. More pictures and original information from the Dutch site, bright.nl. Although I think that these jeans are not that great looking (what’s with the contrasting stitching?), I love the concept.
Looking aroudn lately, I see an increased amount of iPod-related fashion offerings. Outwear is one area that this does really well in, but looking at the backpacks that most stores have rolled out for the BTS season, one may think that it isn’t possible to get a backpack that isn’t iPod-ready in some way or another.
More coverage from the Unofficial Apple Blog and Gizmodo.
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