The largest iSTYLE store in Bucharest, Romania becomes an Apple Premium Partner (APP) store

iSTYLE recently reopened its largest location in Romania, Bucharest. The store in Mall Băneasa Shopping City features a new design adapted to the Apple Premium Partner (APP) concept. The exciting opening event, on June 17, presented a fascinating museum of historic Apple technology.

The APP concept involves a completely new design, similar to Apple stores around the world. The redesign increased surface area of the store to 180 square meters, and the number of displayed products tripled. In the APP, sales team members are specially trained to provide customers with the Apple Store specific shopping experience. The investment in the reopening of iSTYLE in Mall Băneasa was substantial and included renovation, new furniture, launch offers, marketing and communications.

“We are happy to announce that we are fulfilling our promise and opening, within just a few months, the second Apple Premium Partner iSTYLE store” said Valeriu Ion, General Manager of iSTYLE Romania, Bulgaria and the Adriatic Countries.

“Apple users in Romania will enjoy a larger retail floor area, more products displayed simultaneously, more sales specialists, service and training sessions directly in the store, as there are in all Apple locations in the world. We have prepared an offer that covers as many wishes and needs as possible from our customers and partners” said Valeriu Ion.

The design of the store was created by a team of designers specialized in Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino. All equipment comes from Apple’s direct suppliers – like the designer rounded tables from the USA and the furniture from Germany. Another special feature is that the store will be able to function without a physical cash register in the near future.

In Apple Premium Partner stores, the display of Apple products and Apple accessories is even more important than before. The number of closed showcases is reduced to a minimum, so customers can easily try out the products displayed on open surfaces without the help of the staff.

iSTYLE provides an on-site permanent servicing function, so staff can even undertake an iPhone screen replacement or battery replacement on the same day. The range of payment solutions is also expanding; in addition to the Easy Upgrade payment services and the iSTYLE Comfort service packages, customers are also provided with a product credit scheme and a used equipment offsetting service.

The store has specialized employees who have received exclusive Apple Premium Partner training and who will provide regular free education and open workshops for the general public. They will start with topics of interest to Apple fans like MacOS work for beginners, tips and tricks for advanced Mac users, and video editing.

iSTYLE places an even greater emphasis on serving entrepreneurs and small to medium-sized businesses. A dedicated staff specialized in corporate users and experienced in financing corporate hardware is there to answer all corporate demands related to Apple devices and products. Valued customers from different industries gathered in a special private SMB event to celebrate the opening of the APP, where they had the had the opportunity to experience a Premium Partner location, meet the dedicated team, and to find out more about best practices with Apple devices at work.

In order to celebrate the opening, iSTYLE put in place an exhibition called ‘Design the Future’ which includes smartphone models starting with the iPhone 2G from 2007 up to the iPhone 14 Pro Max launched last year. Enthusiasts had the chance to revisit the first iPhone with 3G and the App Store from 2008, but also the next generation and 3GS with video recording/playback.

From 2011, iSTYLE showed the iPhone 4 which redefined the style of the range, and with the 4S variant users that first got to know Siri. The first Apple “phablet” can be found in the iPhone 6 Plus in 2015. Two years later, the iPhone was prepared for the future by abandoning the headphone jack. Starting with the X series, the screen took up the entire front surface, and introduced Face ID. From 2020 there was a switch to three cameras with the Pro series, and from 2021 iPhones entered the 5G era with super innovations.

The expo of Mac computers included the 1987 Macintosh SE – the third model in the Macintosh all-in-one line, after the Macintosh 128 and Macintosh Plus. This was the revolutionary Macintosh that housed both the computer and the monitor in one stylish unit.

The museum wouldn’t be complete without Macintosh Spartacus, the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh or ‘TAM,’ from 1997. At launch, the computer featured all the technological potential of the moment and was sold at a price of $7,499, the equivalent of $12,700 in 2021. From 1999, the exhibit showed the Power Mac G4 – the first personal supercomputer, on the occasion of which the short name “Mac” was used for the first time.

Three years later, the iMac G4 appeared, nicknamed the “Sunflower”, an innovative all-in-one computer with a flat screen separate from the central unit, which could be moved up and down and rotated 180 degrees. In 2004 the iMac G5 is presented with a shape that is preserved to this day, and the first aluminium Mac appeared in 2009.

“Through this temporary museum exhibit, we wanted to celebrate the new Apple Premium Partner location in a unique way, presenting a journey of performance and innovation in technology. Every iPhone and Mac model is designed to help us create and innovate. The evolution of technology brings us here, to today. More powerful gadgets, functionalities created especially for everyone’s needs and infinite ways of customization – this is the history of one of the most famous brands in the world”, explained Alina Gheorghiu, Marketing Manager of iSTYLE Romania.

Apple fans had the chance to admire the exhibits displayed in the storefront exhibition for the entire opening weekend of the new APP store.

About iSTYLE Retail Romania

iSTYLE manages 15 locations in Bucharest and the main cities in the country. The sites total over 1,700 sq metres of premium high-tech retail, designed and executed with Apple’s signature attention to detail, and serviced by over 80 consultants trained to the highest standards. iSTYLE premises are adapted so that the focus is on customer safety and the constant provision of the best quality services.

iSTYLE, part of the Midis Group, is the largest network of Apple Premium Reseller stores in Central, Eastern Europe and Middle East. iSTYLE has been providing Romanian customers with the highest quality and continuous services for over 20 years through a competent team of certified specialists permanently trained to Apple standards.