Apple Starts Recruiting Fashion/Luxury Retail Experts to Help with Apple Watch Launch

[RaduTyrsina]

Apple seems to be on a hiring spree, after we have reported earlier that the company is interested in hiring somebody to oversee its social media strategy. And now it seems that Apple is interested in hiring fashion retail experts to help with the promotion of its upcoming Apple Watch. 9to5Mac reports the following:

9to5Mac has now learned from internal hiring documents that Apple is recruiting retail candidates this month with “a fashion or luxury background” suggesting Apple is preparing to deliver some changes to its retail stores in time for the Apple Watch’s early 2015 debut. With former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts leading Apple’s retail efforts and the Apple Watch set to transform the Apple Store into a jewelry store, what could a potential Apple Store makeover include?

In October, this year, Apple SVP of Design Jony Ive described the need for various appearances of the Apple Watch when speaking at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art:

"As soon as something is worn, we have expectations of choice,” said Ive. Only “in prison,” he joked, do people all wear the same thing."

Personalization has always been something that consumers appreciated and it seems that Apple tries to please them. However, this will result in a greater footprint in the Apple Store than if the Apple Watch was only available in three colors. And this is just one of the reasons why Apple needs an expert to help with this.

At the moment, we know that the Apple Watch options include sizes in 38mm and 42mm, finishes of stainless steel, space black stainless steel, silver aluminum, space gray aluminum, 18-karat yellow gold, and 18-karat rose gold with six different band styles all available in various color options.

Here's how 9to5Mac believes consumers will be able to interact with the devices:

We first saw these tables holding Apple Watches in September from the press and employee “hands-on” area after the iPhone/Watch event.

While this style of presentation seems to address the presentation problem, shoppers will also want to try on the various Apple Watch styles and interact with the software, and from the looks of today’s hiring news, it sounds like Apple wants to do this right.

One could imagine a display similar to the ones in the photos above with easy access for Apple Store employees to remove specific Apple Watches for trying on. Such an effort would require more staffing, but the approach might be more secure than simply anchoring Apple Watch’s to alarm systems like iPhones and iPads on display in Apple Stores.

To tackle the teaching angle, Apple could leverage ongoing demonstrations at dedicated tables to continuously talk about the Apple Watch and its various features.

The starting price of the Apple Watch is said to be $350, but it could go all the way up to a few thousand dollars for gold editions.

Source: 9to5Mac