image source: Gizmodo
Sandwiched between aging brick buildings on historic Boylston Street, the shimmering glass facade of Americas now largest Apple store is set to open today. Thousands are expected to attend the evening’s festivities, including free workshops and live music, upon its opening at 6 p.m. tonight.
The three story, 20,000 square foot building features a ground floor of over 100 Mac laptops and computers, a second floor dedicated to everything iPod and iPhone, and the top floor committed to service and support. The Boylston Street store, second largest globally to London’s Regent Street store, offers a glimpse into the latest retail plans as Apple prepares for further international growth with a new store set to open in Beijing this summer.
Reuters reports that in the most recent financial quarter to March 29, Apple’s store sale had increased 74 percent equating to $1.5 billion. The average revenue per store in the quarter was up 48 percent from the previous year, from $4.8m to $7.1m. Additionally Apple store’s operating profits more than doubled to $334m.
Senior Vice President of Apple’s Retail Strategy, Ron Johnson, expressed to Reuters that a strong international presence would be an important driver of future sales. He sites that “Today, Apple is about 50 percent international revenue and about 50 percent in the U.S.” “…We increasingly want to get our retail presence out in the other countries.”
If Apple continues this rapid growth of the retail sector I think we will all be pleased to see what’s in STORE for the future.
