On November 20, the Nintendo World Store at 10 Rockefeller Plaza will open its doors three hours early for an in-store event that will give commuters a chance to pick up Nintendo’s new Wii system (a $249.99 wireless game console that will officially launch the day before) on their way to work. We talked to Nancy Gray, a Nintendo regional manager and general manager of the Nintendo World Store, about planning an event with an unconventional twist: getting people in and out as quickly as possible.
How did the idea for this event come about?
By throwing around ideas with people in our corporate office in Redmond, Washington. Two or three months ago we decided to do something for the commuters, to reach out to the community where our store is located and give people a chance to shop when maybe their schedules don’t permit them to go into the store during their regular business lives. We figured, wouldn’t it be great to open the store early and provide them a hassle-free shopping experience with coffee and breakfast? We’ll be serving coffee and holiday pastries from Starbucks.Did the idea change from your initial brainstorm?
Not really, except we did think about opening at 4 instead of 6!
What’s the goal of this event?
To reach out to a different group of customers rather than our hard-core gamers. This system is highly sought-after for the holiday season because it’s designed for fans of all ages at any skill level. You can open the box and immediately start playing. Even today at lunch we’ve had a ton of people in suits and ties from the Rock Center area trying out the system. If you went to your local Nintendo store on the day of the launch, you may or may not find it. The event is the first Monday after the launch, so the idea is to give this group a chance to quickly buy it.
How are you getting word out about the event?
Everyone who works at Rockefeller Center ordinarily gets a monthly newsletter via e-mail. The November newsletter included a blurb letting people know they’ll be able to purchase the Wii at 6 AM on Monday the 20th. We’ll also do our own e-mail blast to people working in the city. And we’re sending media alerts to publications that are read by commuters, including The Village Voice, The New York Post, The Staten Island Advance, and The New Haven Register.
Since these won’t be the kind of customers who linger, how will you get them in and out as quickly as possible?
We’ll have enough systems to accommodate everyone who comes in the door during that three-hour time frame. [The company expects between 100 and 300 people at the event.] We’ll have extra staff on hand and two mobile cash registers out on the sales floor. If we end up with 300 people in the store at once, we’ll serve the food and coffee to people as they stand on line. Our store is used to crowds—we had 3,000 people standing in line for one event—and we’ve found that feeding them while they’re standing on line really does keep them happy. Customers can also play games while they’re standing in line, and they can enter for giveaways, such as MetroCards, Starbucks gift cards, and DS Lites [the company’s portable gaming system]. The idea is for them to scoot in, buy, and get back to work.
—Michele Marchetti
Posted 11.14.06
How did the idea for this event come about?
By throwing around ideas with people in our corporate office in Redmond, Washington. Two or three months ago we decided to do something for the commuters, to reach out to the community where our store is located and give people a chance to shop when maybe their schedules don’t permit them to go into the store during their regular business lives. We figured, wouldn’t it be great to open the store early and provide them a hassle-free shopping experience with coffee and breakfast? We’ll be serving coffee and holiday pastries from Starbucks.Did the idea change from your initial brainstorm?
Not really, except we did think about opening at 4 instead of 6!
What’s the goal of this event?
To reach out to a different group of customers rather than our hard-core gamers. This system is highly sought-after for the holiday season because it’s designed for fans of all ages at any skill level. You can open the box and immediately start playing. Even today at lunch we’ve had a ton of people in suits and ties from the Rock Center area trying out the system. If you went to your local Nintendo store on the day of the launch, you may or may not find it. The event is the first Monday after the launch, so the idea is to give this group a chance to quickly buy it.
How are you getting word out about the event?
Everyone who works at Rockefeller Center ordinarily gets a monthly newsletter via e-mail. The November newsletter included a blurb letting people know they’ll be able to purchase the Wii at 6 AM on Monday the 20th. We’ll also do our own e-mail blast to people working in the city. And we’re sending media alerts to publications that are read by commuters, including The Village Voice, The New York Post, The Staten Island Advance, and The New Haven Register.
Since these won’t be the kind of customers who linger, how will you get them in and out as quickly as possible?
We’ll have enough systems to accommodate everyone who comes in the door during that three-hour time frame. [The company expects between 100 and 300 people at the event.] We’ll have extra staff on hand and two mobile cash registers out on the sales floor. If we end up with 300 people in the store at once, we’ll serve the food and coffee to people as they stand on line. Our store is used to crowds—we had 3,000 people standing in line for one event—and we’ve found that feeding them while they’re standing on line really does keep them happy. Customers can also play games while they’re standing in line, and they can enter for giveaways, such as MetroCards, Starbucks gift cards, and DS Lites [the company’s portable gaming system]. The idea is for them to scoot in, buy, and get back to work.
—Michele Marchetti
Posted 11.14.06
