Apple Store 5th Ave continues to defy gravity, macroeconomics

While the entire retail sector is in the doldrums of recession and reduced consumer demand, there's a shiny spot in midtown NYC with a big glass cube sitting on top of it. Apple's 5th Avenue store should replace that glowing Apple with a big ol' dollar sign, according to a report from Bloomberg News.

The story says that while overall retail sales in New York have fallen between 8 and 10% since 2008, and US retail sales for the first half of 2009 are down 9.2% from the same six months of 2008, Apple's retail operations are still holding steady.

In particular, the 5th Avenue store stands out; while Apple did not release store-by-store numbers, Bloomberg quoted an estimate of about $350 million in annual sales; that's $35K per square foot of the 10,000-sf store. By comparison, high-end jeweler Tiffany & Co. does only about $18K per square foot. That $350M number is lower than the New York Post's $440M estimate, but still astonishingly good business.



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