Part of the Apple Q3 2013 earnings call was dedicated to the Retail Stores, and on the whole it turned out pretty well for the quarter. Retail Stores saw strong growth in sales throughout, and saw their most successful MacBook Air launch to date thanks to the new Haswell machines unveiled at WWDC. The key figures:
- $4.1 billion for retail stores in the quarter, average per store of $10.1 million
- Total estate now stands at 408 stores, with 156 outside of the U.S.
- 6 new stores opened across the globe, with 9 more to open in the next quarter, total 27 new openings in Fiscal 2013
- Total of 23 store relocations taking place throughout 2013
- 84 million total visitors for the quarter, average of 16,000 per store
The Apple Retail Stores remain a strong performer, no doubts in part to offering a customer retail experience unlike any other mainstream stores out there. Stores remain busy, with massive footfall on a weekly basis, and new store openings like the recent one in Adelaide, Australia (pictured here) continue to create massive buzz and draw huge crowds.
In a world where more and more retail purchasing is moving online, it's truly impressive to see the Apple Retail Stores continue to post impressive numbers. This creates a particularly poignant point to myself, coming from the UK. In recent months and years our high streets have seen a number of high profile casualties, including electrical retailers, falling foul of the tough economy and going out of business. Apple products are still generally speaking premium items, and yet their stores are always full and their numbers continue to impress. Their retail environment shows no signs of slowing down.
Of course, it goes beyond just selling hardware, the local Apple Store is a one-stop-shop for all your Apple needs, be that purchasing, repair work, training programmes, even live appearances from musicians, writers, general celebrities. It's a true customer experience, and long may it continue, and long may it continue to succeed.
Apple Store employees in the United States must now wear masks
Apple has reportedly told employees at its United States Apple Stores that they must once again wear masks when at work, although the company has stopped short of requiring that customers also wear face coverings.
Apple's mixed reality headset could have an external screen
Rumors of Apple working on some kind of mixed reality headset are far from fresh but a new report has shared more information about how the project has struggled to ship a product. According to that report, and to deal with concerns from people on the team, Apple may be putting an external display on the headset so that people can see what you look like.
Leaked iPhone 14 cases show Pro models' insanely huge camera bumps
Apple is roundly expected to announce a new iPhone 14 lineup later this year and a new leak claims to show some of the cases that are being built for those new handsets. And as we've been expecting, they show the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max devices will both come with massive camera bumps.
Need to print something from your iPhone? Check out these printers!
Printers are a reliable way of obtaining a physical copy of documents. Even if you're mostly using your iPhone or iPad for everyday computing, AirPrint capable printers will keep you printing with no problems. Here are some of our favorites!