AT&T Inc. (T) has opened a sleek, new retail store on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, showcasing the company’s range of mobile services and offering customers a glimpse of future technology.
“The Magnificent Mile is a unique shopping experience and so is this store,” said AT&T North Central Region President Kent Mathy. “We have put the very best our brand has to offer our customers on display at this store.”
The 10,000 square-foot store includes a number of retail firsts for AT&T, and extends beyond traditional wireless services and applications to demonstrate AT&T’s offerings in vehicles and homes, and services still to come. The location includes:
– AT&T’s first-ever retail demo of a connected car, the 2012 Nissan Leaf. The car is located in a section of the store that also highlights an AT&T Labs prototype of services to provide automotive connectivity, safety and efficiency.
– First-ever retail demo of AT&T’s Digital Life home security and automation service, which will be trialed later this year. Store visitors will be able to control a mock home’s temperature and raise and lower a window shade using a wireless device.
“Our Michigan Avenue store is where customers can immerse themselves in everything AT&T is about and truly explore the technology we have to offer,” said Paul Roth, president of AT&T retail sales and service. “Customers will not only be able to interact with and purchase our products, but they will also experience the forefront of evolving wireless technology and see how AT&T is leading it.”
The store includes “lifestyle boutiques” that target particular customer interests with products, apps and accessories. The boutiques include Get Fit, Be Productive, Share Your Life and Chicagoland, which includes locally relevant applications and Chicago-themed accessories (such as one-of-a-kind smartphone cases) that are exclusive to the Michigan Avenue store.
The store also has green design elements such as efficient lighting, Energy Star appliances and reclaimed teak wood. In another retail first for AT&T, the location will include biometric technology: employees’ fingerprints will open cabinet locks for cash drawers and IT systems.
“You won’t find another store like this anywhere else in the country,” Roth said.
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