Monday, November 17, 2008
What is it About the Apple Store?
Posted by Vincent Ferrari in "Apple Talk" @ 10:00 AM
Photo credit: Vincent Ferrari
In 2006, Apple opened the most dramatically designed store ever conceived. On the front steps of FAO Schwartz, CBS, and GM, they built a glass cube with a suspended glowing Apple logo. When you follow the staircase down into the store, you see a retail experience that has been, at times, been called a model for consumer electronics retailers. At the time the "cube" as it's referred to opened, Apple was averaging $4,000 of sales per square foot of retail floor space, a staggering number that put them in the company of such high-end retailers as Neiman Marcus ($611 per square foot), Best Buy ($966 per square foot), and even New York City icon Tiffany and Company ($2,666 per square foot). When you think about it, the numbers are staggering. This brings up the obvious question: why are the Apple retail stores so successful? In my opinion, you don't need a degree in business or economics to answer this question. Read more...