Description
Many stores are located inside shopping malls, but Apple has built several stand-alone "flagship" stores in high-profile locations. Flagship stores have opened in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Beijing, Boston, Chicago, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Montreal, Munich, New York, Osaka, Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo. The largest Apple Store in the world is in Amsterdam, on the Leidseplein.
Each store is designed to suit the needs of the location and regulatory authorities. Apple has received numerous architectural awards for its store designs, particularly its midtown Manhattan location on Fifth Avenue, whose glass cube was designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.
Several flagship stores feature glass staircases, which for multi-level stores was originally intended to attract customers to visit the upper floors, and some even feature a glass bridge. The New York Times wrote that these features were part of then-CEO Steve Jobs' extensive attention to detail. The first glass staircase received a design patent in 2002 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office with Jobs' name first, followed by several others, while the staircase design itself received a design patent, and the complex glass and hardware system received a separate technical patent. Apple worked with architect Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and engineer Eckersley O'Callaghan Structural Design in designing the staircase.
The Apple Store in Regent Street, London, was the first to open in Europe in November 2004, and is the most profitable shop in London with the highest sales per square foot, taking £60,000,000 pa, or £2,000 per square foot. The Regent Street store was surpassed in size by the nearby Apple Store in Covent Garden, which was surpassed in size by the Grand Central Station Store in December 2011.
Ron Johnson, Senior Vice President of Retail Operations until November 1, 2011, was responsible for site selection, in-store service, and store layout, however he had had no control over the inventory in the stores. Instead, inventory is done company wide by then-COO and now CEO Tim Cook who has a background in supply-chain management.
Of the 43,000 Apple employees in the United States 30,000 work at Apple Stores. Due to the popularity of the brand applicants for jobs at Apple Stores are numerous with many young workers applying; pay is modest but generous benefits are offered. The pace of work is high due to the popularity of the iPhone and iPad. Employees typically work for only a few years as career prospects are limited with no path of advancement other than limited retail management slots. Apple Store employees make above average pay for retail employees and are offered money toward college as well as gym memberships, 401k plans, healthcare plans, product discounts, and reduced price on purchase of stock. The retention rate for the technicians who man the Genius Bar is over 90%.
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