A new report is out this afternoon claiming that Apple's vice president of retail Jerry McDougal has left the company to spend more time with his family. It's a significant blow, as he's considered to be a big part of Apple's retail success.
McDougal was Ron Johnson's right hand man before he left the company to head up JC Penney in late 2011, and was even said to have been considered for his replacement before Apple decided on the infamous John Browett...
Marco Tabini of Macworld takes an interesting look today at how Apple manages to keep the prices on its products, and subsequently its profits, so much higher than other manufacturers. It turns out, the company uses a unique, two-pronged pricing strategy.
The first part of it has to do with wholesale pricing. Apple, unlike most hardware-makers, doesn't offer resellers much of a discount on products like the iPad or iMac, even if they're buying in bulk. This doesn't give retailers much incentive to carry the products, but with the kind of foot traffic they produce, it doesn't really have to...
Get ready to rumble! Best Buy, a gadget retailer that sells more iPhones than anyone but Apple, is charging the world's biggest retailer Walmart with unfairly pricing the iPhone 5 during holiday.
A number of states' attorney generals are looking into the allegation. Best Buy says it lost $65,000 a day trying to match the $150 price (later cut to $127) Walmart promoted in December.
The electronics retailer charges Walmart didn't have sufficient supplies to fulfill its holiday promotion of the regularly-priced $199 smartphone...
No matter if you are in Syracuse, NY or Singapore, when you step into an Apple Store, you're likely to be greeted in a singular manner. That's no mistake. In fact, the 'brain' of Apple's retailing success is part of a patent filing for a centralized floor plan management. It's entitled "System and method for planning layout of a retail store" and details, well, everything.
Starting from how the tech giant uses the iPad and centrally-controlled in-store displays to offer customers a unified appearance, no matter which Apple Store around the globe you happen to waltz in. Indeed, if tech retailing were part of the Star Trek universe, Apple locations would be manned by the Borg - seeming to operate with one mind...
Everything is different in Asia than over here in the United States (or Europe, or most other parts of the world for that matter). Whereas we celebrate Christmas and Santa Claus and kick off the holiday shopping season with Black Friday mega discounts, there's no such thing in Japan. Instead, they have Fukubukuro - aka Lucky Bags or Mystery Bags - a New Year's Day custom where retailers entice buyers with grab bags containing unknown random contents.
These are usually sold with a significant discount, usually 50 percent or more off the items' list price. Honoring the local custom, Apple on its Japanese retail page confirmed that a one-day Lucky Bags sale will take place in seven stores across the country on January 2...
Apple has thrown in another nice perk that should appeal to last minute shoppers: the company's web store is now offering free next-day shipping on every item available in the store. Previously, only a select few products were eligible for free shipping, including the items listed on Apple's 2012 Holiday Gift Guide. Unfortunately, only US orders include free next-day shipping. Be that as it may, those that have not ordered their holiday gifts yet needn't despair as with this promotion your last minute purchases should be received in time for the holidays...
This is interesting. If a new report is anything to go by, Apple has added an interesting option for retailers carrying physical iTunes Gift Cards. As you know, iTunes Gift Cards are normally offered in $15, 25, $50 or $100 denominations. The new cards provide for custom denominations ranging from $15 to $500.
These give customers a much-needed flexibility to load their iTunes account with a custom credit of their choosing rather than having to choose between Apple's four preloaded amounts. Apparently one supermarket chain and at least one retailer are rolling these out as we speak...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX1eTBeWoyw
A quick side-by-side video MacWeekend.com shot early morning on Black Friday at Lone Tree's Park Meadow Mall where both Apple and Microsoft have their respective retail stores shows one is packed and the other is not. Apple's place is much smaller versus Microsoft's so it feels busier, of course. And over at the Apple Store in the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster and his crew counted heads at both Apple's store and the Microsoft Store directly across the hall.
Although non-scientific, their comparison survey tells us that shoppers picked up nearly five times as many items per hour at the Apple store. We already knew the iPad dominated mobile shopping on Black Friday. And if you ask kids, Apple's tablet is the #1 item on their holiday wish list. Looks like Apple's gonna own Christmas this year...
Cody told you earlier this morning that U.S. carrier Sprint started selling Apple's iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad with Retina display in its retail stores. Not to be outdone by the nation's #3 telco, carriers AT&T and Verizon announced that both Wi-Fi and cellular versions of the two tablets are now available across their retail and online stores in the United States. Additionally, we are hearing that Best Buy has the tablets and will begin selling them later today. Both carriers are offering the iPad mini and the fourth-gen full-size iPad with or without shared data service, with Sprint of course having the upper hand with its unlimited data offering (and limited 4G coverage).
The devices have also arrived in Apple's retail outlets. Some customers who pre-ordered their units saw their shipment delivered as early as yesterday or are seeing their packages out for delivery...
Making good on its promise, Apple has started stocking its U.S. retail outlets with cellular versions of the fourth-generation iPad with Retina display. According to web reports, Apple yesterday instructed its retail staff to stock these units and to wait until Mothership instructs them to begin sales because a launch date has not yet been communicated.
By all accounts, the company should officially start selling these tomorrow, November 16. In a media release announcing opening weekend sales of three million iPads, Apple noted that cellular versions of both the iPad mini and the fourth-generation model will be available in the US on AT&T, Sprint and Verizon "in a few weeks"...
Next time you are in an Apple Store, look down. You are standing in the most profitable real estate of all retail. For the second year in a row, Apple Stores rank #1 with the highest sales per square feet, once again beating Tiffany for the top spot.
According to Retail Sales' ranking of U.S. chain stores, Apple Stores pull in $6,050 per square foot compared to Tiffany's $3,017. Apple's brick-and-mortar locations see 100 million visitors every three months, with each Apple Store visitor leaving $45...
The iPad mini went on sale this morning in 34 countries and it looks to be off to a pretty solid start. Now, much ado is being made about lines not being as long as during past product launches. This is understandable: after all, the iPad mini launch is somewhat subdued because of the fallout from Hurricane Sandy. Still, eager fans reportedly visit flagship Apple stores in considerable numbers to pick up the new device which most reviewers deemed an attractive buy.
In New york, in about two hours the iPad mini sold out at Apple's flagship Manhattan store on the Fifth Avenue. In case you'be been wondering about the headcount, Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports of more than 800 customers standing in the line by the time the 10am countdown began. So much about "disappointing crowds"...