| Saturday, November 20, 2004 |
12:53 - Infiltration beyond the PC Curtain
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4028363.stm
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Apparently we're not just in the business of exporting things like Levi's and democracy these days. Now, at least in Britain, it's time for Apple Store Mania to begin.
Shop openings this side of the Atlantic traditionally consist of some feeble ribbon-cutting, a few pictures for the local newspaper, and maybe even a free goody bag for the first lucky customer to pass the threshold.
But in the world of Apple it was always going to be so much more.
Because judging by those queuing up for the opening of Europe's first Apple store in London on Saturday, their customers are not just buyers, they are believers.
They do not just prefer to use a Mac, they need the world to know how it has changed their life.
The whooping and hollering, high fives from the staff and frenzied countdown to lift-off were all signs of the brand worship that Apple has managed to engender in its followers.
Some had waited 25 hours or more in bitterly cold temperatures to be at the front of the queue. By 11 in the morning - one hour after opening - police were estimating 5,000 had turned up.
The traditions all sound the same... whether because they're engendered by the Apple staff or by insane Apple Store fans who travel the world waiting for every opening. From the look of video of the event, the Tokyo opening is going to hold the record for pure spectacle for a while; but now that Londoners have had a taste, they've got another shot in Birmingham coming up.
I have a friend in London who spent his first morning in line (er, queue) for an Apple Store opening. I'm eagerly awaiting his report.
(Via Steven Den Beste.)
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Brian Tiemann
