Sales per square feet
A lesser known fact about Apple is a startling one. The company ranked as the most valuable retail per square foot in the U.S. in 2012 for the second consecutive time, according to RetailSails. Apple beats out pricey jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF). by a big margin, with Apple achieving sales per sq. ft of $6,050 coming in from its elegantly designed stores. The iconic Tiffany has made women around the globe very happy for generations, and yet Apple managed to do much better than the 275 Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF)’s stores around the globe. The jeweler managed to scoop up half the sales per sq. ft compared to Apple at $3,017. With the global economic environment rebounding, Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) represents a solid bet for sales growth on luxury items. Activist investor Dan Loeb recently took a stake of 2.7 million shares on Tiffany& Co., worth $188 million.
Apple also tops yoga pants retailer
by 3x in terms of sales. The fashionable yoga pants are a favorite amongst athletic and fitness-conscious women throughout North America, and its retail stores per square foot stood at $1,936. Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) just recently laid out its earnings report, and the company reported a healthy same-store-sales increase of 7%, and even beat on the sell-side estimates. However, Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)‘s CEO is leaving the company, which sparked a massive sell-off of ~20% of the company’s share price recently.
Even though Apple topped numerous leading retailers on sales per sq ft basis, the company does rank lower when measured on a sales per store basis. Apple ranked on 9th spot as measured by RetailSails, behind big-box stores like Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) and Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST). However, investors tend to focus on sales per sq. ft and same-store-sales growth when measuring the performance of most retailers in general.
The Takeaway
Apple has been selling products at lower price-points to target more price-sensitive customers especially in growing regions of the world. The company’s increasing number of retail stores, especially in foreign locations is a great plus for the company. More retail outlets enhance the company’s brand image and lays the foundation for creating newer Apple gadget buyers.
Ishfaque Faruk has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple. Ishfaque is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
The article Apple’s Retail Sales Are Bright originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Ishfaque Faruk.
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