Analysts and commercial real estate executives know that an Apple Store in a retail mall serves as would an apple a day in keeping the doctor away, with the doctor being the Dr Death of retail in the age of Amazon.
A report from The Street entitled “Apple has triggered this major phenomenon that is preventing many malls from dying” tells at least some of us what we already knew, simply by using our eyes.
It is well known that Apple Stores are generally always packed full of people, even while Microsoft’s own stores in US shopping centres close by to Apple Stores are nowhere near as well loved by consumers.
If you aren’t yet aware of this phenomenon, then take a trip to your closest genuine Apple Store and take a look for yourself – the stores are packed with customers buying new products, getting issues solved by very helpful staff, learning lessons, using the free Wi-Fi or simply window shopping.
{loadposition alex08}Most retail stores would kill to have this kind of activity in their premises, so it’s no surprise to see analysts and commercial real estate executives point out that an Apple Store in a shopping centre is a fantastic draw for crowds of people, with all those people having a flow-on effect for retail sales in the rest of the centre's stores.
After all, a rising tide floats all boats, with reports that shopping centres are even paying Apple to bring their stores to their locations, simply so they too can benefit from Apple’s ever amazing halo effect.
The Street quotes well known Apple analyst Gene Munster, stating that “An Apple Store in a mall is equivalent to staying alive at a mall,” while quoting Robin Abrams, commercial real estate exec stating: "Apple Stores are a landlord's dream tenant. It’s guaranteed that Apple is going to bring traffic.”
It’s clear that while supermarkets might once have been dream anchor tenants of choice, and obviously still hold major appeal to retail shopping centres, an Apple Store is a retail shopping centre crown jewel, so much so that The Street again notes the obvious: shopping centre owners will offer free rent and help pay store costs in construction.
The Street’s article has more detail, but in short, to avoid retail and foot traffic decay, make way for the main stay with cachet that is the Apple Store – if you can convince Apple your shopping centre is good enough!
