Stores, he was really interested in getting to know
the people who were passionate. He would calmly
walk up to them and just start asking about them.
This was never about him.”
Allen’s interest in the Apple Stores was
oddly specific, but his posts on IFO about store
designs, rumors of where a store would open
next, financial information, and hiring practices
intrigued Apple fans and proved invaluable to
those interested in working at an Apple Store.
For example, his website was one of the first
to detail how Apple uses a ShopperTrak system,
a sophisticated video-monitoring system that
automatically counts the number of customers
who enter the store and documents their behavior
once inside. Allen also studied the layouts of
every store and noted that Apple was devoted
to a standardized layout and experience that not
only encouraged buying but also facilitated that
special fellowship that characterizes Apple fans.
“Apple feels they have a very, very strong
brand and to just do anything with brand would
dilute it,” he said in a 2003 interview with Cult of
Mac editor Leander Kahney. “[The Apple Stores]
are a focal point for many types of experiences,
not just selling. [The stores] are very open to the
social experience. They are not just for people to
come in and buy.”
His brother, Jim Allen, believed that
Gary felt that Apple products received ample
news coverage but store culture did not get
the attention it deserved. “Gary had an early
interest in computers, especially Apple,”
Jim said. “He wasn’t particularly athletic, so
he directed his interests into other things. I
remember as a kid, Gary produced a family
newsletter that he wrote out and my dad would
take it to the office to get it mimeographed.”
Devin Allen said his father loved to travel
and used the store openings as an excuse to see
a new country and an opportunity to bond with
his son. Gary Allen visited several states and 11 of
the 15 countries where Apple operates stores,
including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands,
Germany, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and China.
In fact, according to a “Who Am I” page on
the website, it was Devin who first sparked Gary’s
interest in Apple Stores when Devin suggested
their first overnighter at the Palo Alto store.
“Did you ever stand in front of an Apple
retail store for two days? I have and it’s an inter-
esting experience,” Gary Allen wrote. “It turned
into an amazing social event.”
“In the process of attending grand openings,
I became fascinated by Apple’s retail initiative,
including the stores’ architecture, operation and
philosophy. Again at Devin’s suggestion, I created
this website to share all the information I had col-
lected about the stores and reports on the grand
openings I attended.” For many of the openings,
he camped overnight with the fans.
Gary Allen wrote his last post in February
2015. He discontinued the website soon after he
learned of his cancer diagnosis.
In his free time, Allen used to love going to
his local Apple Store in Emeryville, California,
every couple of weeks to hang out and chat with
staff and customers. What he loved most about
Apple’s retail spaces was that “there’s no barrier
to talking. There [is] an instant connection kind
of thing.
“There are so many aspects of Apple that
are discussable: the technology, the culture,
design, innovation. Get 10 or 12 people together,
you can spend the night discussing these issues.”
T
T
LINES
L
L
L
L
L
L
OUTSIDE
O
O
O
O
O
8
9
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.