Apple is looking for an Apple Retail Store Operations Manager [link expired] on its “Jobs” Web page, described as someone who, “seeks to help improve the profitability of retail Apple Stores by identifying operational needs and areas of improvement and researching and recommending solutions. The manager also manages teams who provide daily operations support and procure and manage supplies for stores.” The position is based at or near Apple’s headquarters. Interestingly, one of the primary job functions is to, “Develop and implement programs and contests that recognize and reward outstanding performance by individuals and teams,” suggesting that employees receive some type of bonus for performance… sales or otherwise.
Don’t know who said it, but a several newspapers report that iLife is selling like hotcakes–so fast that the San Jose, Palo Alto and “Cupertino” Apple retail stores reported they had no copies of the software.
iLife banners have appeared on the side walls of the Apple stores to promote the new software. Expect the front windows to change shortly to feature iLife applications. The newspaper photos of LaEncantada (below) provide a preview.
Thanks to Mark for photos of the LaEncantada (Ariz.) Apple store and its preparations. Also check this story in the Arizona Daily Star.
The Aventura (Fla.) Apple store will open Jan. 31st.
The steering wheel on my rental car is pulling to the right as I head north on I-84 for Hartford. My only chance it to pull off the Sugar Hollow Rd. exit in Danbury and head for a service station. While “Joe” is raising my Hertz car onto the lift, I notice he has an old “toilet seat” iBook in the office, and our conversation turns to the possibility of using Panther on it. I tell him, “No such luck,” but he has better news for me. He say my car problem is just low tire pressure… and that the nearby Danbury Fair Mall will be the site of a new Apple retail store, smack-dab in the middle of this upscale, suburban part of Connecticut.
Ever want to iChatAV with an Apple store? It’s easy to connect, but more difficult finding a computer that running iChatAV software, and someone to accept your chat invitation. Here’s what you need to enter to reach out!
I’ve received several questions about the round, black seats in the Kids section of Apple stores. I can tell you that they were designed by Baleri Italia (Italy), and are available in the U.S. in 11 colors for $364 at the Unica Web site. The seats are part of the company’s “Tato” furniture collection, and the seats themselves are called “Tatino.”
It’s totally un-scientific, but I picked a random hour, at a random Bay Area Apple store, and gathered some statistics about those who visited the store: 20% were “kids,” another 20% were over 45 years old, and 60% were in the category “young adult, 30s, 40s.” By the way, with the exception of one group, all the “kids” arrived with older visitors.
A tipster reliably reports that the Mission Viejo (S. Calif.) Apple store will hold its grand opening on Feb. 14th. It would be store #75, and the 17th in California.
The Mac OS Rumors Web site has posted a short blurb, indicating they’ve received “credible, but as of yet unconfirmed” information that Apple has made “inquiries” with the Russian government about opening retail stores in Moscow, St. Petersburg and one other large city. The site says that several tips indicate Apple is, “in the planning stages of a major planet-wide expansion of its retail stores over the next several years.” Australia…maybe, Europe for sure. But Russia?! Respectfully… someone’s been smoking a piroshki.
Apple announced its first quarter 2004 results: it posted a profit of $63 million, with total revenues of $2.006 billion, a four-year high, and up 36% from the same quarter of 2003. The company shipped 829,000 Macintosh computers of all models and, as previously stated, 733,000 iPods.The retail store revenues were $273 million, up from $193 million in the previous quarter, or a substantial increase of 41%. Perhaps more meaningful, the stores posted a profit of $9 million during the quarter. Computer unit sales for the retail stores were also up compared to the previous quarter, to 73,000 units from 59,000. Based on these figures, the Retail Segment contributed 13.7% of Apple’s overall revenues, and 8.8% of the total computer sales. Check the latest financials for more details.Interestingly, Apple said the Ginza (Tokyo) store posted the highest first-month sales of any Apple store, averaging $1 million in sales per week.Lastly, the company said the increased capital expenditures for retail stores mentioned in the 2003 annual report would generally be spent on high-profile stores, and did not indicate opening as many as 15 stores during 2004. CFO Fred Anderson said the company previously forecast opening 80 stores by back-to-school 2004, and that figure still stands, although, “it could be a couple more.”
Investor’s Business Daily newspaper has a story on the loyalty of Apple’s customers, and asks why that doesn’t translate into more sales and a larger market share.
Apple’s 74th retail store will open in Tucson (Ariz.) on Jan. 24th at LaEncantada, after some construction delays.
I’ve added more photos of One Stockton (SF) showing the roof and skylight construction.