Apple plans massive retail expansion for 2011

2

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    ...chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said, with 40 to 50 new stores planned (half of which will be outside the US) and a new wave of replacements planned for the company's existing, aging stores in the US.



    What if they open 50 new stores and expand 100 existing stores?

    That would be MASSIVE!
  • Reply 22 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by fearless View Post


    Apple Store New Zealand



    According to ifoapplestore.com Apple sent their retail representatives to New Zealand a year and a half ago. Maybe they think that there isn't room for a lot of stores so they are looking for the perfect location. They have been looking for a site in Berlin for a much longer time and still no news.
  • Reply 23 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    What an amazing problem to have eh? BTW how are those MS stores doing? I seem to remember they started in CA.



    I heard they suffered a massive blue screen of death which killed their customers and employees.
  • Reply 24 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by columbus View Post


    Now, now: let's not be cruel - they have 4 stores now.



    Oh, dear... I just love how the in-store images they chose all look completely barren of customers. Ouch!
  • Reply 25 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marktrek View Post


    According to ifoapplestore.com Apple sent their retail representatives to New Zealand a year and a half ago. Maybe they think that there isn't room for a lot of stores so they are looking for the perfect location. They have been looking for a site in Berlin for a much longer time and still no news.



    Bummer! Will someone tell The Steve that the place is beautiful and he would really like it?

    Maybe that will get us past the 'must have a few million within an hour of the store' rule that Mel mentioned before.



    We believe in quality, not quantity here anyway.
  • Reply 26 of 46
    I think rosewood tables with dark maroon carpeting for a more warm, rich and inviting look!



    Keep the glass and the aluminum, but right now I feel I'm walking into a Finnish "Crate & Barrel" lately!



    Oh, well!
  • Reply 27 of 46
    freerangefreerange Posts: 1,597member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jmmx View Post


    "The company noted that its four new stores in China are the highest trafficked in the world and among the highest performing. "



    Now that is a real important point for the investor. It indicates that China really is a growing market. Since Macs have virtually 0% market share, there is enormous groth potential. In fact, it is the question I would have had at the conference call: "Does 'highest performing' include Macs? or just the iPs?"



    Can't wait to see the regional sales breakdown.



    First, there are not 4 new stores in China. The article is wrong. Only 3 are new - the Sanlitun location has been open for over 2 years. But jmmx is completely off base. Macs are all over the place in the major cities, as are the iPhones, long before they were officially sold here. They are both brought in on the gray market in huge numbers as there is a 17% tax imposed on Apple products in China because they are a foreign company. This is even though they are made in China. As to highest performing products, Macs are the most significant factor. Unfortunately, many, if not most, are installed with MSFT Windows buy consumers as Apple has done a very poor job of educating the market on the advantages of OS X over Windows.
  • Reply 28 of 46
    freerangefreerange Posts: 1,597member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Robin Huber View Post


    I am ecstatic about Apple's continued retail growth and expansion. But a little part of me wonders how much is too much. At what point does all this brick and mortar become an unsustainable drag? When does it become top heavy? I don't know, that's why I am asking.



    I remember those Gateway stores that popped up all over the place, then just as quickly went out of business. Clearly there seems to be a lot more potential internationally, especially in China. I am guessing that in order for stores to flourish there has so be sufficient demand, especially for new products, not just legacy ones. What happens if Apple hits a flat spot with the latest and greatest? Can they "adjust" the number of stores without getting into trouble financially or PR-wise?



    Someone brought up the Microsoft stores earlier. I, too, wonder how they are doing. The new Windows 7 phones will at least give them some new MS branded devices to feature. This may justify their hanging on a bit longer. But clearly they are not exploding like the Apple Store has. But MS, like Apple, has plenty of cash to keep their retail "hobby" going forever if it wants to.



    What the heck are you asking when it comes to Apple's risk of opening too many stores? Try to study up on what is going on before you ask such stupid questions. Apple has the highest sales per square foot of any retailer in the world!!!!!!! That says it all.
  • Reply 29 of 46
    so how do i get a iphone on a plan

    i have jumped from apple store to telstra( australia ph network) and back and back again x4 and still no phone.

    pimply kids with blue shirts at apple stores tells me i have to line up in the morning before the fancy apple store opens and wait. first in best dressed....take a number and be allocated at some point throughout the day to sit with a plan /ipone guy to conduct the exercise....yeh right. Meanwhile 6 other pimply kids are walking around with the "can i help you tune whilst wiping down ipads". So i go in later and still cant fit me cos you gotta come back tommorow and do it again....apple stores are managed like shit. they would have pushed through double the phone deals in that day i was there. telstra shops are just as bad saying no we dont have any phones so therefore come back another day and TRY again......yeh right. there is not one sales guy that said. yes sir i will fit you in the next half hour or took my details and made a definite booking for the simple process to happen. Apple your forgetting tomanage the store people to provide a customer service....dont just look good with ya shiny shop fittings.
  • Reply 30 of 46
    hirohiro Posts: 2,663member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    There has to be a few million people within an hour from the store, or there may not be one.



    No, I know of a store with only about 200,000 folks within an hour's drive.
  • Reply 31 of 46
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Hiro View Post


    No, I know of a store with only about 200,000 folks within an hour's drive.



    Such as? This is basically what Apple has been saying.
  • Reply 32 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    There has to be a few million people within an hour from the store, or there may not be one.



    Auckland City with a population of 1.5 million is also neighoured by a city 40 minutes away with a population of 400,000 - population density isn't the issue here. Several cities in Australia which are smaller than Auckland have Apple Stores, and these cities are miles away from any other city, meaning that a city of only 1 million is considered large enough. Besides, Zurich where I live, has 2 Apple Stores and a population of 300,000.....
  • Reply 33 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by FreeRange View Post


    First, there are not 4 new stores in China. The article is wrong. Only 3 are new - the Sanlitun location has been open for over 2 years. But jmmx is completely off base. Macs are all over the place in the major cities, as are the iPhones, long before they were officially sold here. They are both brought in on the gray market in huge numbers as there is a 17% tax imposed on Apple products in China because they are a foreign company. This is even though they are made in China. As to highest performing products, Macs are the most significant factor. Unfortunately, many, if not most, are installed with MSFT Windows buy consumers as Apple has done a very poor job of educating the market on the advantages of OS X over Windows.



    I wanted to follow up on this (I live near the Sanitun store). American news really gives a distorted view of China, and so therefore people don't realize some of the reality here.



    China is still firmly a developing country, but the difference in development between 3 of the 4 centrally-administered cities (Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai) and the outlying areas is stark. The richer cities have average incomes on par with some of the poorer U.S. states (think Alabama, Mississippi, etc.).



    Further, China's middle class is growing very fast. It's still very small, as a percentage of population...(no one knows exactly...perhaps 10% closing on 20%?). Let's use that as an example. If 10% of the Chinese people could be considered middle class, the percentage sounds tiny, but the number is 130,000,000 people. Double that to 20% and you're starting to talk about a middle class that's equivalent to the entire American population.



    The fact is the nouveau-riche here in China want to show off their newfound wealth a little bit. And Apple products, though rejected by the mainstream (my online banking in China, for example, only works in Windows), are still nevertheless seen as status symbols. The geeks I know here with a bit of money buy a macbook, and an iphone, and a nano, and an ipad...to go along with the thinkpads they already have.



    This market is going to be huge for Apple; they are smart to expand here rapidly.
  • Reply 34 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    I heard they suffered a massive blue screen of death which killed their customers and employees.



    I actually lol'd.
  • Reply 35 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    There has to be a few million people within an hour from the store, or there may not be one.



    There are - a couple. More people than sheep where we are...
  • Reply 36 of 46
    India please?
  • Reply 37 of 46
    mcarlingmcarling Posts: 1,106member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Futuristic View Post


    India please?



    In my opinion, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Kolkata could each support one Apple Store.
  • Reply 38 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    What an amazing problem to have eh? BTW how are those MS stores doing? I seem to remember they started in CA.



    lol. you are right! i totally forgot they had one!
  • Reply 39 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mcarling View Post


    In my opinion, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Kolkata could each support one Apple Store.



    I agree, although I would add Hyderabad to the list as well.
  • Reply 40 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by FreeRange View Post


    What the heck are you asking when it comes to Apple's risk of opening too many stores? Try to study up on what is going on before you ask such stupid questions. Apple has the highest sales per square foot of any retailer in the world!!!!!!! That says it all.



    It was a rhetorical question. I was hoping to inspire some thoughtful discussion about possible downside in the future. Guess I didn't make that sufficiently clear.



    I was not questioning Apple's retail strategy and success. I am a big fan of it. As for studying up on it, I worked at one of the first Apple Stores in 2001. It was a great experience. Since then I have been a frequent and happy customer. When I worked there I bought a lot of stock at a low price. When I sold it this year it made me a lot of money. Perhaps you have an even more intimate experience with Apple retail than I. It'd be nice to hear about it.



    Please, let's have an exchange of ideas, not ridicule and insults.
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