Analyst: Apple Stores beneficiary of Apple iPhone 4S launch

The wildly successful launch of the Apple iPhone 4S last October helped send money and shoppers to the Apple Store. Analyst Charlie Wolf of Needham and Co. says that the retail arm of the Cupertino based tech giant had a record three month period during the December holiday quarter. Wolf noted that while Apple Stores get busy during new product announcements, the launch of the Apple iPhone 4S made the stores go "nuts". During the 2011 holiday quarter, the average Apple Store had revenue of  $17.08 million which was a 42.6% rise from the 2010 period. The average number of visitors per store rose 15.3% annually.

Apple has 361 retail stores with 40 more expected to open this year, 30 of those overseas. Over the next 5 years, Apple hopes to increase the number of its stores in China from the current 5 to 25. According to Fortune, the Apple Store locations average $2,033 in sales per square foot. The closest retailer to Apple was Tiffany as the luxury jeweler brought in sales of $2,974 per square foot in the same period. As Apple's retail empire has grown in the number of locations, the size of each store has also grown. Ten years ago, the average Apple Store had 6,000 square feet and today the average is 8,400.

As the chart from Wolf's report to clients shows, Apple has seen the business at its retail locations grow. Wolf says that the peaks in sales show the popularity of the Apple iPod, the launch of the Apple iPhone and the introduction of the Apple iPad. And as long as Apple continues to roll out new stores and new models of those products, the trend is likely to continue for some time.

source: Fortune