Reliance iStores to close because Apple doesn't like how they look

Apple’s obsession with getting their product designs just right has long been part of technology folklore. Stories of anger tantrums over minor minunderstandings and heightened security around the latest prototypes have added to the Apple aura. Turns out this attention to minute-detail extends to the surroundings that house these products too.

Earlier this year Apple managed to convince the US Patent and Trademark Office to allow the Cupertino, California company to trademark their store designs. This was all part of Apple’s effort to consolidate every part of the brand and build recognisability, even with the brick and mortar stores, and crack down on imitations that were popping up across the world.

In its application for the trademark Apple mentioned, “…rectangular tables arranged in a line in the middle of the store parallel to the walls and extending from the storefront to the back of the store, multi-tiered shelving along the rear walls, and an oblong table with stools located at the back of the store below video screens in the back wall,” as staples of Apple stores.

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[caption id=“attachment_223797” align=“alignleft” width=“300”]  Reuters[/caption]

An unlikely casualty of this insistence on design is Reliance iStore. Today The Economic Times has reportedthat the Reliance-Apple retail partnership, inked in 2007, took a hit with Reliance shutting down 16 of the 20 exclusive iStores it operated for the global consumer electronics giant due to non-compliance with the design policies. Apple also claimed the stores were not expanding at a rate agreeable to them, the report said.

But it may not be all bad news for Reliance. The company has decided to convert the iStores into Digital Xpress outlets that will sell tech brands beyond Apple. The Digital Xpress chain serves as a one-stop customer solution center, offering products, services and tutorials. The stores will also sell Reliance’s soon to be launched 4G services, the report stated.

In its Annual 2012-2013 report Reliance stated that theconsumer durables, IT and telecom (CDIT) segment is expected to touchRs 2,15,000 crore by 2016 and the company plans on expanding to Tier II and Tier III cities apart from building on its in-store experience.“The focus would be to further strengthen ResQ, the service arm of the digital format.ResQbrings in strong service orientation towards meeting the requirements of the customers during the entire product lifecycle,” the report said, according to The Economic Times.

Perhaps Apple’s design highhandness won’t hurt Reliance in the long run. Or perhaps the Indian company will succumb to the onslaught of exclusive Apple stores slated to open in the country over the next two years.