With all the talk of Apple’s new Apple Watch this week, there’s been a lot of rumbling about how the company is going to have to reinvent itself, in particular, its store format, once more. Hard to believe, but the revolutionary store concept Apple has become known for – often imitated, seldom replicated – has now been around for nearly 15 years. In fact, we’re 15 years into the new century, and the Apple Store as we know it has been with us almost every step of the way. Crazy when you think about it, especially when you consider how many retailers are still just trying to catch up.

But an article I read yesterday in the Washington Post went even further, claiming that luxury shoppers aren’t going to want to buy the highest-priced versions of this new device unless Apple creates a dramatically more luxurious environment, complete with different lighting, full length mirrors, and places where affluent shoppers can purchase a $5-10K watch in privacy without being leered at by the common man. When I got to the line that an Apple designer “overheard someone saying, ‘I’m not going to buy a watch if I can’t stand on carpet’, ” well… that got me thinking: is this really where we’re at?

As the retail world gets completely caught up in the “experience ” of every purchase, I think we’re going to start to see a lot more cases of people getting completely carried away. I reported on some of this in our annual NRF Big Show Debrief: cases where the “biggest problem in the world ” seemed to be getting the Manhattan Socialite shopper a mimosa in the dressing room before her blood sugar (or BAC) ran too low. Yes, the prosperity gap is widening in this country, and yes, luxury brands are doing very, very well right now – in large part due to their ability to make the most affluent feel more special. But people already drop $3-5k in an Apple Store on a regular basis without so much as blinking an eye these days – and no one blinks an eye back at them when they do. Not to mention the fact that it’s not the $5K watch that will elevate Apple once more: it’s the tide of $349 ones they’ll sell.

In today’s market, it’s as much about knowing who you are as it is who you’re not. Walmart learned that lesson in a very costly way. I doubt Apple will make the same mistake. Who knows, maybe they’ll one day open separate boutiques in the very malls where they already have stores to sell luxury versions of their more “common ” (and still expensive) products. I doubt it. But no matter how they sell it – in stores, online, in high-end boutiques – they will make a killing on the Apple Watch. Because a hot product is just that, and Apple knows that’s exactly what it does best. And knowing what you do best and adhering to it? Well, that’s priceless.