Sales REALLY strong at Atlanta Apple Store
I went to the Apple Store at Lenox Mall in Atlanta yesterday (Saturday). From what I saw I think by the end of the quarter we will see that the Switch campaign has been hugely successful and that Apple has gained some marketshare.
Analyst Charles Wolf has said that for the Apple Stores to break even they each need to sell about 71 Macs per week. Based on calculations they have been selling around this much, which is ten Macs per day. Keep this in mind.
In Atlanta there is a tax free back-to-school weekend and there is no tax on computers. I went to buy an iMic audio-in adapter for my Cube on Saturday and in the ten minutes I waited in line to pay I saw five Macs go out the door! I waited about five minutes but the customer in front of me was taking a while so I walked over and played with the 17 inch LCD iMac. Then I came beack and waited again for five minutes before I paid. In the ten minutes I saw three people each carry out an iBook and a printer and two eMacs carted out by Apple employees. They were selling Macs like donuts at a Krispy Kreme!
So I said to the guy ringing me up "The Macs are really going out the door. It looks like you'll sell like fifty today." He said that yesterday (Friday) they sold over 100! That is unbelievable for any day, but especially a work day, even if it is a tax free weekend. I wouldn't be suprised if they sold more than that on Saturday. I asked him if they seemed like new Mac users. He said the majority of them definitely were PC users.
I can't see one store selling more than 20 Macs to current Mac users in one day because there are only so many current Mac users. So the other 80 had to be PC users. I bet the Apple Store Atlanta gets 250 switchers this weekend! I really think Apple has turned the corner and PC users are now BUYING Macs rather than just playing with them at the Apple Stores.
Analyst Charles Wolf has said that for the Apple Stores to break even they each need to sell about 71 Macs per week. Based on calculations they have been selling around this much, which is ten Macs per day. Keep this in mind.
In Atlanta there is a tax free back-to-school weekend and there is no tax on computers. I went to buy an iMic audio-in adapter for my Cube on Saturday and in the ten minutes I waited in line to pay I saw five Macs go out the door! I waited about five minutes but the customer in front of me was taking a while so I walked over and played with the 17 inch LCD iMac. Then I came beack and waited again for five minutes before I paid. In the ten minutes I saw three people each carry out an iBook and a printer and two eMacs carted out by Apple employees. They were selling Macs like donuts at a Krispy Kreme!
So I said to the guy ringing me up "The Macs are really going out the door. It looks like you'll sell like fifty today." He said that yesterday (Friday) they sold over 100! That is unbelievable for any day, but especially a work day, even if it is a tax free weekend. I wouldn't be suprised if they sold more than that on Saturday. I asked him if they seemed like new Mac users. He said the majority of them definitely were PC users.
I can't see one store selling more than 20 Macs to current Mac users in one day because there are only so many current Mac users. So the other 80 had to be PC users. I bet the Apple Store Atlanta gets 250 switchers this weekend! I really think Apple has turned the corner and PC users are now BUYING Macs rather than just playing with them at the Apple Stores.
Comments
Always lots of people in, checking out the hardware, watching the movies, talking to the employees, etc. And ALWAYS stuff being bought. I've seen dual-processor G4s and Cinema Displays and tons of iMacs and iBooks (not to mention printers, software, accessories, etc.) all being sold.
I've never been to an Apple Store, day or night, weekend or weekday, and HAVEN'T seen lots of activity and a busy cash register.
That's good.
On a related note, my best friend just bought a new 17" iMac (replacing his Powerbook 1400) and is patiently awaiting its delivery.
He's in for a treat!
<a href="http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/business/0802/03holiday.html" target="_blank">http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/business/0802/03holiday.html</a>
On the same note, everytime I'm at the Woodfield (IL) store, they have a lot of business. Now, I've not been to any other stores to compare, and I don't go to this one very often (it's 2 hrs away), but whenever I'm there (I usually spend like 2 hrs), I see a lot of computers go out the door. Last time I was there for the Getting Started workshop, I saw 4 iMacs, 2 or 3 iBooks, and a lot of extras go out the door. They easily sell 10 a day (and a lot of those people are PC people, according to the staff.).
That I buy in glee!
D