06 February, 2012
By Adnan
Apple has been at the top of smartphone market ever since it launched the original iPhone back in 2007. The company is revered for a number of reasons, including but not limited to its iconic and magical products. Apple Retail Stores are known for providing an amazing shopping experience, and the fact that they are beautifully designed all around the world makes it impossible to not want to visit an Apple Retail Store. iPhone 4S has provided a huge boost to Apple’s in-store revenues this past quarter.
Apple announced iPhone 4S in October last year. Their last quarter of 2011 had already begun. Q4 of 2011 started from October and ended in December. A few days back the company announced that last quarter had been their best yet, with revenues totalling $47 billion. By going in to specifics, we find that Apple Retail Store sales got a huge boost after iPhone 4S was released.
Much of this boost is due to iPhone 4S being Apple’s fastest selling iPhone to date. Regardless of the fact that it happens to be a minor update of iPhone 4, with no design changes whatsoever. iPhone 4S comes with a better processor, better camera, 64GB on-board memory option and the amazing virtual assistant Siri, which is the defining feature of iPhone 4S and probably the root cause of its massive sales.
FORTUNE posts specifics of Apple’s record Q4 2011 from analyst Charlie Wolf of Needham. The numbers are shocking, to say the least.
- Revenue per store: a record $17.08 million, $5 million better than Dec. 2010
- Same store sales: up 42.6% year over year
- Sales per square foot: $2,033 for the quarter, or an annualized rate of $8,133 (Tiffany’s: $2,974 per sq. ft.)
- Visitors per store: up 15.3% annualized
- Square feet per store: 8,400, up from 6,000 ten years ago
Nobody in the industry initially believed that opening retail stores will make any big difference in sales. With deceased co-founder Steve Jobs at the helm, Apple brushed aside criticism and invested heavily in retail stores. Needless to say, the result is evident. Apple currently has 361 stores worldwide as of last quarter. They plan on opening 40 new stores in 2012, out of which 30 are going to be outside USA.
