MacSpecialist River North

In 2008, MacSpecialist opened a second physical location in the downtown Chicago neighborhood of River North.  

I stumbled upon the location at 500 N. Wells after visiting one of our Lightspeed point-of-sale clients who owned a modern furniture store in the neighborhood. It was surrounded by ad agencies, production houses, luxury retail boutiques, art galleries and nightlife, all of which fell into our target markets. From the moment I saw the space, I knew it was the location that would define the MacSpecialist brand in Chicago.

Over the following months, my vision became a business and marketing plan that eventually impressed Apple enough to fund a significant share of the buildout costs in the form of a grant. This was something they weren’t exactly known to do for our channel and the assistance was greatly appreciated. Apart from the buildout grant, they covered a large portion of our grand opening marketing efforts.

Because such a large part of the marketing plan focused on building a community around the brand, the buildout needed to produce extraordinary results. I wanted everyone who walked through the doors to feel like we built the place especially for them. I wanted them to know that we were the Apple store for the professionals.