- Not a cash register is in sight. The electronics on display are all powered up and ready for use. Personal trainers, specialists and newly minted concierges in aqua blue shirts make the Apple Store feel part salon, part Internet cafe -- just without the espresso.
- Over the past year, Apple Inc. has revamped its 201 stores, changing the layout, adding services and increasing its staffing. The "concierge" service that Apple launched last week is only the latest initiative designed to draw more visitors and bolster already record-breaking sales.
- Clipboard-carrying concierges greet customers at the door to direct them to the right section of the store or to the personal shopper or trainer with whom they had made an appointment.
- With cash registers removed, a common question nowadays is, "Where do I pay?" The store employee would instantly reply, "Right here," and whip out a portable scanner from a hip holster. Receipts are e-mailed on the spot or, if the customer prefers, a paper version emerges from printers hidden underneath display tables.
- It's not uncommon to find people dropping in to hang out, use the Internet or let their children play on the Macs on low-legged tables. Personal blog entries, complete with snapshots of the authors in the store, are sometimes written on the spot. "We try to pattern the feeling to a 5-star hotel," said Apple's retail chief, Ron Johnson. "It's not about selling. It's about creating a place where you belong."
- The retail stores hosted more than 100 million visitors and produced about $4.2 billion in revenue in Apple's fiscal year that ended in September, up nearly 24 percent from $3.4 billion the previous year -- in line with the Cupertino-based company's overall sales growth.
- And Apple says that more than half of the computers sold at Apple stores are to people new to the Macintosh platform. After hovering for years with a 2 percent to 3 percent share of the PC market in the United States, Apple's slice has now grown to 8 percent, according to market researcher Gartner Inc.
I do believe both Google and Apple to be the de facto "entertainment" twins in the coming years, intertwining themselves in all pieces of the digital convergence. While I do hold a position in Google and thus far its been immune from any slowdown (along with simply dominating it's competitors and taking more market share by the month), it's a bit more tied the corporate sector (i.e. advertising) whereas Apple is tied to the consumer (until enterprise starts buying Macs en masse - one day). While the consumer is slowing one area they will voraciously eat up is gadgets - we saw this last Christmas. So in many ways I see less near term (6 mo to 18 mo) risk from the economy with Apple than I do with Google. Strange I know.
Technically, Apple has held the 50 day moving average ($163-$164), a key technical support level, throughout this sell off. Granted, if we have utter giving up in the market, Apple will not be immune but thus far in the face of a serious correction, the stock has held its ground. But any sell off will not be due to fundamentals, as this company continues to hit on all cylinders. Much like Nike, we have a brand that due to design prowess and cool cache, can sell very similar product for very large premiums compared to competitors. This leads to margin expansion and profits, profits, profits. If we could get some benign market action over the next 6 weeks, I think we see Apple north of $200 as we enter the New Year. As a matter of fact, I am so confident in the gadget play thesis for Christmas, I am going to beginning a position in Best Buy (BBY) early next week as well.
Long Apple, Google in fund; no personal position
2 comments:
I too think AAPL is a freight train, althought I am less confident in the overall market. I'd love to see this stock sub 150 for a long position. But then again I always wait for blue light specials before I buy, and it may never get there
Well if the market weakens from here there is a good chance of Dow 12K or so (from 12,800). So you might get all your specials ;). What I always try to do is layer in and out. This way in case the stock runs on you, you at least some skin in the game - I do this in the fund and in my personal account. So when AAPL dropped to $168 I bought, bought another batch at $160, but then it broke its support so I did not buy in $150s. Once it got back above $160 it was a good signal to buy again. What I like about Apple was until about the 2nd week of the correction it did not budge, meaning it takes pretty serious corrections simply to show any weakness. I like stocks that (in my opinion) will only be weak due to the market and not their own issues. So by holding out you are simply making a call on the direction of the market, not the individual issue - which is a much harder guessing game - gaming the market direction is always much harder than individual names.
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