Dear Friends,
Someone tried to put a damper on our holiday spirit as both of our Vermont stores suffered break-ins and robberies this week. My staff reacted fantastically by both cleaning up the mess of broken glass and displays and by continuing to provide great customer service to the busy stores, even as the doors and windows were being repaired. Shoppers were very sympathetic and we continued to operate while we tried to recover from the thefts. Other Apple Specialists across the country offered their help, too, and we are very proud to be part of such a strong network.
We have to change our mindset a bit based upon these robberies. We are operating a jewelry store and the jewels are iPods and iPads. There seems to be an increase in thefts this time of the year, and even normally safe Vermont seems to have gotten its share of drug-related property crimes. Through our associations with the Vermont Retail Association and VBSR, I have found expert consultants to help us respond to this new threat.
The weather has definitely turned into winter with snow and cold temperatures as we head into the final week before Christmas. As we had predicted, the hottest gifts for the season are iPads, iPods, Apple TV and the new 11-inch MacBook Air. The growth of the iPad market is simply spectacular as it makes its inroads from homes into businesses and government. My attorney called me the other day to tell me that he had used his iPad in court and it was the first time, to his knowledge, that an iPad was used during a trial in Vermont.
I am pleased to announce that we are introducing Hammerhead stylus pens for iPad, iPod and iPhone. While we considered manufacturing gloves with sensitive fingers for the winter months here in the North Country, we felt that introducing our own selection of these styluses would be a better solution, especially for those who wear mittens! We have three styles available immediately. The first is a pen-like stylus, the second is a slim retractable stylus with an integrated sim card pin under the cap and the last is the Stubbie stylus that can be tethered to your iPod, iPhone or iPad by the headphone jack.