SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T's new
tech-centered store will live inside one of San Francisco's oldest, and most historic
buildings, transforming its celebrated past into a futuristic
wonder, and redefining how customers shop for and learn about
wireless technology in an increasingly interconnected world. The
new store, at 1 Powell Street in Downtown
San Francisco next to the popular trolley cable car
turnaround area, opens September 28.
It is AT&T's largest retail store in the country at
24,000-square feet, and will serve as the company's West Coast
flagship location.
This historic San Francisco
building, constructed in 1908, has been meticulously restored from
floor to ceiling by AT&T's construction team, bringing 1 Powell
back to its original Baroque architectural splendor, while adorning
its vast open space with an array of next-gen tech accessories.
Restoration specialists even used feathers and cotton swabs to
gently remove decades' worth of dirt and grime in the majestic
coffered ceilings, inch by inch.
"Our 1 Powell Store is a premier retail environment respecting
the beauty and history of the location while bringing the most
exciting new entertainment and mobility services to life," said
Fred Devereux, Regional President –
West, AT&T Mobility. "It's as much of an innovative educational
space as it is a retail space where customers can interact with the
latest technology and learn how it may integrate and simplify their
everyday lives."
Futuristic tech playground
The store's
6,000-square-foot second floor space features a one-of-a-kind
interactive, forward-thinking tech playground featuring
connectivity through the Internet of Things (IoT) focusing on
products such as Entertainment, the Smart Home and Connected Car.
It is a physical manifestation of AT&T's vision to be the
premier integrated entertainment provider.
Customers will be welcomed at the top of the escalator by a
custom hologram that speaks to AT&T's innovation and evolution.
Throughout, customers will have the ability to interact with each
experience through touchscreen technology on 98" monitors and
connected products such as a smart refrigerator to showcase how
simple a connected life can be.
AT&T wants to change the face of retail, and the company has
evolved its stores to meet customers' growing needs. This new 1
Powell store is a major part of AT&T's strategy, positioning
itself as an industry leader by simplifying and improving its
customers' world through connectivity.
Local and international influences
Some of the first
floor store design and merchandising elements were first seen in
AT&T's award-winning flagship brand store on Michigan Avenue in
Chicago, which opened in
August 2012, as well as in the
Boston store on Boylston Street,
which opened in March 2015. The 1
Powell Flagship Store expands on this tradition of offering a
tech-centric retail store that simplifies customers' lives through
seamless integration.
The new 1 Powell Flagship Store – nestled in the original Bank
of Italy headquarters, which
became Bank of America in 1930 – gives a modern twist to a historic
Baroque-inspired building. Upon entering, visitors are greeted by
an eight-foot marble globe that has the word "hello" written in 32
different languages, paying homage to the Bay Area's multicultural
history while welcoming international visitors. And when they look
up, they'll see a one-of-a-kind 48 ft x 5 ft NanoLumens digital
display overlooking the second level balcony. This electronic
canvas features custom fluid art created specifically for this
store by artist Joshua Davis.
"San Francisco has always been
known for its vibrant art community, and now, it's become home to
some of the leading tech companies in the world," Davis said. "So
my art celebrates the two facets of San
Francisco – the artsy, creative side and the cerebral, techy
side. They blend nicely to form today's San Francisco, and this 1 Powell store
definitely captures that vibrant and exciting – uniquely
San Francisco – vibe."
Investing in San
Francisco
The new location is part of AT&T's
continuing investment in its networks, retail footprint and
workforce in the Bay Area and throughout the state. AT&T has
invested more than $7.25 billion in
its wireless and landline networks in California between 2013 and 2015. This
investment drives upgrades to reliability, coverage, speed and
performance for residents and business customers.
"We're proud we've been able to beautifully restore 1 Powell. It
is a significant piece of San
Francisco's storied history," said Ken McNeely, President, AT&T California. "We
thank Mayor Ed Lee, City and County
of San Francisco department heads,
and scores of planners, inspectors and city staff, whose
partnership throughout this process has been invaluable to us."
As part of the store opening and AT&T's commitment to the
community, AT&T will kick-off a month-long San Francisco Giving
campaign with a $100,000 contribution
to GradGuru, an AT&T Aspire Accelerator alumnus and a
San Francisco-based startup that
helps community college students achieve their goal of transferring
to a four-year college or university. AT&T will make additional
contributions of $20,000 or more
every week through the month of October to five nonprofits helping
to drive innovation in education, boost diversity in tech, and make
San Francisco a vibrant city. In
total, AT&T will give $240,000 to
organizations including GradGuru, Taking It To The Streets, Meals
on Wheels of San Francisco, and
San Francisco Firefighters Toy Program.
"GradGuru is extremely grateful for AT&T's continued support
of our organization, and of their support for Edtech and social
innovation startups and nonprofits nationwide," said Catalina Ruiz-Healy, CEO of Grad Guru. "The
Aspire Accelerator experience helped take us to the next level, and
this generous contribution will help GradGuru's mobile platform
enable thousands of more students to persist and succeed in
community college."
More than 108 years after Italian immigrants started a bank to
serve working class citizens of San
Francisco in a building that would eventually become a
National Historic Landmark, 1 Powell is now home to AT&T, which
has reinvented itself just as San
Francisco has done. One went from telegraph and telephones
to wireless, network, and smart devices; and the other from the
Gold Rush to finance, tech, and education. In many ways, it's
appropriate AT&T takes stewardship of this historic
building.
"So many people from across AT&T's diverse business groups
worked with tireless passion and commitment to bring this flagship
location to the city," Devereux said. "I am proud of every
individual effort and the partnerships developed in order to
complete the project. We now begin the fun part of sharing our
effort with our community. We invite everyone in the Bay Area to
join us and check out 1 Powell, view the stunning restoration, and
the beauty of the store to see firsthand what all the excitement is
all about."
Store information
Hours for the new 1 Powell Flagship
store are Monday through Saturday, 9
a.m. to 9 p.m, and Sunday, 10 a.m. to
7 p.m. AT&T has 28 company-owned retail locations and 38
authorized retail locations in the Bay Area. To find the nearest
AT&T store or Device Support Center near you, visit
www.att.com/find-a-store or www.att.com/dsc. Don't forget you
can also make an appointment before visiting your local AT&T
store - https://www.att.com/storeappointment/.
* AT&T products and services are provided or offered by
subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T
brand and not by AT&T Inc.
** Limited 4G LTE availability in select markets. 4G speeds
delivered by LTE, or HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul, where available.
Deployment ongoing. LTE is a trademark of ETSI. Learn more at
att.com/network.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions
of people and businesses around the globe stay connected through
leading wireless, high-speed Internet, voice and cloud-based
services. We're helping people mobilize their worlds with
state-of-the-art communications, entertainment services and amazing
innovations like connected cars and devices for homes, offices and
points in between. Our U.S. wireless network offers customers the
nation's strongest LTE signal and the nation's most reliable 4G LTE
network. We offer the best global wireless coverage. We're
improving how our customers stay entertained and informed with
AT&T U-verse® TV and High Speed Internet services.
And businesses worldwide are serving their customers better with
AT&T's mobility and highly secure cloud solutions.
Additional information about AT&T products and services is
available at http://about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at
@ATT and @ATT1Powell, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att or
http://www.facebook.com/att1powell, and YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/att.
© 2016 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved.
AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein
are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T
affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the
property of their respective owners.
Reliability and signal strength claims based on nationwide
carriers' LTE. Signal strength claim based ONLY on avg. LTE signal
strength. LTE not available everywhere. Global coverage claim based
on offering voice and data roaming in more countries than any other
U.S. based carrier, and offering the most wireless smartphones and
tablets that work in the most countries.
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SOURCE AT&T Inc.