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Apple Regent Street is bigger than Harrods

Apple’s UK retail stores are already the apple of computer consumer’s eyes – now the company’s flagship Regent Street store takes more cash per square foot than the world’s most prestigious department store, Harrods, new data claims.

iMacs, iPhones, iPods and Macs are flying out the door of the hugely profitable store, with takings reaching £60 million per year, that’s £2,000 (c.$3,262) per square foot, double the estimated take at Harrods.

Neil Saunders, a spokesman for commercial property agency Verdict, which estimated the figure, told the Evening Standard: "To make £60million a year from a shop of Apple’s size is absolutely phenomenal. We’ve known for a while that Apple is far more than just a computing brand, and the latest findings prove it.

“Apple’s Regent Street store has extremely strong footfall, since it has become a tourist attraction in its own right, and as it stocks its own products, it controls the price, helping it to boost profit. Shoppers pay a premium for the Apple brand, and there is never discounting, so customers don’t waver over buying elsewhere.”

In contrast, Harrods makes £751 per square foot, while Topshop in Oxford Circus takes about £1,000 per square foot. Rival electrical retailers average about £722 per square foot.

The story is the same in the US, where Apple’s stores are defying the recession with huge crowds and strong sales, even while high street sales generally decline. Apple increased store revenue to $3 billion in its most recent quarter, up 2.5 per cent year-on-year while US retail sales generally fell 9.2 per cent.

Recent NPD figures claimed 66 per cent of laptops sold in US retail stores that cost $1,000 or more are Macs.

No wonder they’re dancing in the aisles at Apple retail…

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