Apple VP says retail initiative \'just getting started\'

In an interview with the Pioneer Press, the vice president behind Apple's retail segment admits the company's 101 Apple retail stores are just the beginning of an effort that will likely grow much larger.

"We had very high ambitions for our retail stores, yet they've clearly done better than we could have imagined," said Ron Johnson, Senior Vice President of Retail. "And the exciting part is that we believe we're just getting started."

The Cupertino, Calif.-based computer company has provided no indication of how many stores it plans to launch before leveling off, but documents obtained by AppleInsider sources have revealed over 700 locations world-wide that appear to be on Apple's radar. One document reportedly lists over 600 potential locations in the United States alone.

In 2005, sources say Apple will launch well over three dozen new retail stores, including 5 'mini' stores in the United Kingdom and much larger storefronts in Japan, Canada, and quite possibly Paris, France.

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12 Comments

ludwigvan

said about 19 years ago

Here's the text and link to the St. Paul Pioneer Press article for anybody interested in reading the whole thing. (I don't know if registered users of the site have access to this exclusively or not.)

Aside from not knowing Johnson was a local, I'm curious where other Apple Stores may pop up in Minnesota (if there are any more Minnesota stores in the cards, that is). In previous discussions, some have pointed to Duluth; others, St. Cloud. Rochester would be another candidate.

And, 600 stores! If that's the case, I hope Apple doesn't spread themselves out too thin.

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twinci...y/10478332.htm

Quote:

Posted on Sun, Dec. 26, 2004

Selling Apples on street corners

by Julio Ojeda-Zapata

Like many Minnesotans at the Mall of America with young kids in tow, Ron Johnson recently popped into the Apple Computer retail store near the Lego Imagination Center.

Before long, his 9-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, sat entranced ? in a soft spherical chair ? at one of the Macintosh eMac computers the store has set up for children. Meanwhile, 7-year-old Will made a grab for a silver iPod mini in his dad's hand.

An ordinary scene, but Johnson is no ordinary customer. The Edina native has been the brains behind the Apple stores since chief executive Steve Jobs lured him away from Target almost four years ago. His mission: to get Macs and iPods in people's faces at high-traffic locales ? such as Southdale, Rosedale and the Mall of America.

Apple stores began opening to mostly Mac-geek acclaim in May 2001. But lately, they've become profit-generating supermagnets for those who want to get their hands on one of those ultrapopular iPods.

And Johnson, 46, deserves some of the credit for the craze. "One of the big benefits of the retail stores since day one is that you can take every product for a test drive," he says. And with 101 stores in prime spots around the world, including a just-opened London location, they're becoming increasingly influential.

No wonder Linda Kiernan of Hopkins headed for the Mall of America's Apple store one recent afternoon when she couldn't figure out how to get her beloved pink mini in sync with her trusty strawberry-colored iMac computer.

Seeing Johnson standing just inside the store entrance, she made a beeline for the laid-back guy with floppy hair and a big smile because "I figured he must be somebody." Johnson patiently quizzed her before handing her off to one of the store's tech-help "geniuses," who straightened out her problem.

Johnson, who remained a part-time Minnesota resident after assuming the Apple retail reins, is now a full-time Silicon Valley-ite with two Apple stores on his morning-jog route in Palo Alto, Calif. But his mission hasn't changed.

"We had very high ambitions for our retail stores, yet they've clearly done better than we could have imagined. And the exciting part is that we believe we're just getting started."

benroethig

said about 19 years ago

I hope they start spreading out their store locations. With the current arraingement they have a store on every other block in the major cities (which already have goo deal coverage anyway) and then no Apple stores like like 300 miles. So are any of those locations in Cedar Rapids, Quad Citites, or Madison?

vox barbara

said about 19 years ago

Quote:

Originally posted by BenRoethig
I hope they start spreading out their store locations. With the current arraingement they have a store on every other block in the major cities (which already have goo deal coverage anyway) and then no Apple stores like like 300 miles. So are any of those locations in Cedar Rapids, Quad Citites, or Madison?

Once there was soaring a winnie win word like: G Lo B A L I S A T I O N
around the ... er... Globe.

Yet, my favorite fruit company made me believe they do not intend
to show their goods outside the U.S. Hm.

playmaker

said about 19 years ago

Can we get a freaking Apple Store in NEW ORLEANS Already??!! seriously when they start talking about opening them on other continents its time for me to start throwing a temper tantrum.

denmaru

said about 19 years ago

And where the...well, you know... is the store in Austria? If they build one in Paris and London, there has to be one in Vienna as well... This isn´t fair...