Apple continues investing during bad economy
Many retailers are closing their doors, but not Apple. The company will renovate some of its retail stores and continue to open new ones.
The recession has been difficult for every segment of the economy, from tech companies to the retailers, but Apple plans to spend its way through the downturn, according to USA Today.
Ron Johnson, Apple's senior vice president of retail, was brought into Apple by Steve Jobs to start and build the company's retail store strategy. And he has done just that, very successfully.
While many companies have been forced to cutback on their investment or close their doors completely, Apple is expanding its retail presence. Not only is the company building new retail stores, it is also renovating existing stores to better fit the messaging of the company.
Johnson told USA Today that Apple plans to remodel 100 locations this year. The changes will give the company more room to display products and offer bigger spaces for customer training.
One of the highlights of the stores that have them are training theaters. Apple Store employees, third-party companies, and other professionals often put on seminars showing users how to get the most out of software and hardware products.
Apple even participates in events like the trendy Tribeca Film Festival, inviting entertainers like Spike Lee and Natalie Portman to give sessions.
In reporting its second quarter financial earnings in April, Apple said it had 252 stores worldwide. Its retail stores sold 438,000 Macs and accounted for $1.47 billion in revenue for the quarter. Visitors to its retail locations topped 39 million in the second quarter.