One could say that Apple, and thus its many retail stores, already cater to the wealthy – or at least those with a bit of disposable income. But could Apple make its stores feel even more exclusive – especially ahead of the big Apple Watch launch?

The New Yorker ran a lengthy profile on Apple design guru Jony Ive, and in it revealed Apple’s plans to revamp its many Apple retail Stores.

“Ive has begun to work with Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice-president of retail, on a redesign – as yet unannounced – of the Apple Stores. These new spaces will surely become a more natural setting for vitrines filled with gold (and perhaps less welcoming, at least in some corners, to tourists and truants),” says the New Yorker.

As you’re probably aware, Apple is about to start selling its smartwatch line – one of which is made of 18K gold and could cost multiple thousands.

More from the New Yorker:

Apple had not, overnight, become an élite-oriented company – and it would sell seventy-five million iPhones in the final quarter of 2014, many of them in China – but I wondered how rational, and pure of purpose, one can make the design of a V.I.P. area. Ive later told me that he had overheard someone saying, “I’m not going to buy a watch if I can’t stand on carpet.”

But would Apple risk alienating some of its customer base if it went super fancy in its retail locations? Or would it only bolster that feeling many Apple customers get when shopping at an Apple Store – this is cool.

As the International Business Times points out, Apple has already begun modifying its Apple Stores in smaller ways – taking down Genius Bar signs and changing up the employee attire. Apple has not commented on the scope or exact timing for the Apple Store revamp.

Image via Ryan McKnight, Flickr Creative Commons