“Below the General Motors plaza on Fifth Avenue, a short ride down Steve Jobs’ great glass elevator, the Apple Store is in full swing. Shoppers emerge from the 32-foot cube that marks the store’s entrance while U2’s ‘Vertigo’ plays over the crowd’s hum and dressed-down employees mingle with customers,” Heather Corcoran reports for New York Resident.
“Back above ground, people soak up the sun and the free Wi-Fi connection supplied by the store. It couldn’t be more different from the brand’s SoHo location, which opened in 2002, known for its airy layout and the auditorium that plays home to presentations and concerts,” Corcoran reports.
There are no other stores quite like Apple’s outlets and Steve Job’s grand experiment in retailing is paying off big time. A third Manhattan store is currently in the works, slated for the trendy Meatpacking District. The first Apple store opened in 2001, five years to the day before opening the 20,000-square-foot Fifth Avenue flagship. Now, after six years in the retail biz, the stores account for 16 percent of the company’s $5.26 billion profit in the first three months of 2007. It’s an incredible success, especially considering other technology companies, like Gateway, quickly failed in their attempts to establish a retail presence,” Corcoran reports.
Corcoran reports, “‘Apple went to a billion faster than any other retailer in history, starting from a standing start,’ said retail consultant Howard Davidowitz. Since breaking the record – previously held by the Gap – Apple now averages profits of $4,000 per square foot. ‘Apple is the highest volume-per-square-foot retailer in the United States of America. It’s like a homerun.'”
MacDailyNews Take: It’s a grand slam actually, but who are we to argue? 
Corcoran continues, “Mac fans can’t seem to get enough. When the second Manhattan location opened, one year ago this month, the response was epic. Crowds waited outside for days and by the time the doors opened at 6 p.m. on May 19, the line to get in stretched for nearly a half mile. Since then, the store has never closed – it’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”
“‘Wherever Apple opens, the level of excitement and traffic is tremendous,’ said Davidowitz. And for some, the elegant and clean Apple look is as appealing in the stores, which were designed by architecture firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, as it is in the products,” Corcoran reports.
“Apple draws traffic to its two enormous New York locations not through size but with free workshops, seminars, concerts and even the unique architecture of the stores. And in the world of retail, traffic turns to cash,” Corcoran reports. “‘It’s really built on traffic,’ said Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of the Retail Leasing and Sales Division at Prudential Douglas Elliman. ‘Apple is a happening; it’s an entertainment retailer that creates a shopping experience for the customer.”
Full article here.
The magazine’s actual pages, including photos, start here.
The reality distortion field strikes yet again!!
It is pretty incredible when you think about it.
I mean, ever heard of a trendy meatpacking district?
Before long, Apple will be opening a store to train other retailers on how retailing should be done.
How much should they be charged for the lessons?
Steve really should have someone trim his eyebrows occasionally.
“Apple went to a billion faster than any other retailer in history, starting from a standing start,”
Means nothing. I remember when a billion dollars was real money.
They never said a billion is a lot, but they made it faster than the rest.
Funny thing is I remember last year when idiots on MDN were flabbergasted at the idea of a 24 hour store and told those of us that thought the idea was awesome for New York that we’d been watching too many NY-set movies and the store would be dead come sundown.
Meanwhile I stayed at a hotel two blocks away across from Central Park back in January, had insomnia, walked over to the Apple Store at 3 am and the place was hopping. Hot dog guy outside was doing good business too.
By the way, crabapple, google search for “trendy meatpacking district” yeilds 114,000 hits.
“slated for the trendy Meatpacking District”
I’m assuming this is an area for prostitution, which is cool.
You can drop off a computer and get both of your hard drives taken care of in the same trip……
Opj Thanks for that, I wouldn’t have known since I don’t use google.
Any of those references refer to anything else other than Apples new store?
I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t.
RDF strikes google! as searchers discover RDF’s powerful effect on meatpacking. (very Bloody business if truth be told)
TowerTone, I don’t see geniuses instructing punters on how to play hide the sausage!!
Sorry, Crab, you have to leave the store for some services…..
That’s so easy to explain:
1. Great shopping experience
2. Great products
3. Customers that are brand loyalists
Homerun.
No meatpacking is not trendy but people stopped packing meat in that district years ago. Like every spot on manhattan its full of rich people and has only service industries.
Also did I miss something during Apple’s last sales call. Wasn’t revenue 5.26 billion? Profit of that large even with Apple’s margins would require selling about $30 billion, which is about as much as they did in all of last year. It’s sad when reporters get corrected on the kind of stuff that could be fact checked by Google in about 30 seconds.
Speaking of which, crabapple why the hell don’t you use google? and how do you survive?
I never sausage a great store. Are there links?
Yeah, but retail is still retail.
All the new AT&T Experience stores are already being designed by the Apple retail store designers.
It’s already starting
I will have to skip over the fact that TMF and TT are some of the funniest people I know to say: that article got me totally stoked, the next couple of years are going to be interesting folks!
TMF
Yes, and even the PC poor can be-in the store, as long as no one hogs the displays. I hate to miss piggin’ out on the freebies, but you have to be up at the cracklin of dawn to get a rut in line.
I’m just rib’n ya’ll……
So not kosher.
Big hug, Thorin.
TT: Kevin Bacon is connected how?
(no responsibility for straight lines)
MMMM,
sausage, ribs, piggin’, cracklin’, I’m getting hungry. That’s the good cholesterol, right?
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The Meat packing district was highlighted as trendy in a “Sex and the City” episode almost a decade ago. I went to some trendy bars and clubs down there almost 15 years ago in a pub rally. Never envisioned a computer store opening down there maybe they’ll upgrade the quality of the prostitutes?
Thorin
Don’t forget the poor-can-be-ins!
TMF
‘Kevin Bacon is connected how?’
I just now got that one….