Stanley Whitman is considered a guru among mall managers for taking a chance back in 1965 to build Bal Harbour Shops on a barrier island of north Miami Beach, and developing it into a top destination. The village itself is tiny (3,200 residents in 3/10ths square-mile), but the mall is a very popular tourist destination, especially for international visitors. Maybe that’s why Whitman can brag that the mall has the highest per-square-foot annual revenue in the country, at something over $1,600. GAP is closing their Baby Gap/Gap Kids store on the second level next to Sak’s Fifth Avenue when the lease expires. That will give Apple an opening to install their own store in the space some time during 2008.
Apple retail stores average over $4,000 per square-foot in annual revenue, while the national average is about $340. By the way, the #2 mall in the United States is the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace (Las Vegas), while #3 is the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu, where Apple also has a store.
