Apple plans on augmenting iPhone 5 sales not only through the possibility of bringing Sprint and T-Mobile on board, but also by bolstering its Apple Stores and staff.Most of the top tech analysts these days are predicting that Apple will sell anywhere between 15 million and 25 million iPhone 5 units in 2011 alone. When you consider the prospect that the iPhone 5 may not be released until September, it may only give Apple 3 1/3 months to sell 25 million units — an audacious feat for even the ever-audacious Apple. Analysts attribute this initial iPhone 5 sales boom to come from several factors: a longer-than-usual wait for the iPhone 5, a rumor mill that has reached critical mass, a restless generation of 3Gs users who skipped the iPhone 4 in anticipation of buying the “5,” and most importantly, the supposition that Apple will add both Sprint and T-Mobile — the U.S. third and fourth-largest mobile carriers — as well as expand their reach into China. All of these factors add up to a sales explosion for the iPhone 5 that may dwarf even the consistently brisk iPhone 4 sales.
But another factor in selling more iPhones may also come from the opening of more Apple retail stores.
A report today from Apple Insider details the rising success of the Apple retail stores, as well as Apple’s plans to open more stores worldwide, including its first store in Hong Kong, a kind of pioneering step into eventually penetrating mainland China. All in all, Apple will open 30 new stores in the U.S. alone: “Apple is capitalizing on its strong retail store sales–and preparing for its upcoming iPhone 5 launch–by erecting 30 new outlets before the third calendar quarter ends in September.”
We have a full report on the success of Apple stores, the opening of more stores to increase the sales visibility of the iPhone 5, and the opening of “fake” Apple stores in China, all on the iPhone 5 News Ticker .
Could the increased number of Apple stores in the U.S. and abroad play a major role in empowering 25 million iPhone 5 sales in one quarter alone? Chances are, the additional stores and staff will comprise a smaller piece of the sales pie than meets the eye; the lion’s share of increased iPhone 5 sales would come first from the addition of two new sales partners in Sprint and T-Mobile. While 30 stores placed strategically in the right metropolitan areas could peddle an impressive quantity of iPhone 5s, 30 extra stores isn’t a large number compared to the likes of AT&T or Verizon. AT&T, for example, has over 2,000 stores. Apple operates about 300 stores worldwide.
Apple Stores: What’s the Point?
Given the wide-ranging scope of retail stores run by AT&T and Verizon — not to mention the addition of Sprint and T-Mobile — as well as the special Apple Store sections in large electronics chains like Best Buy, what is the purpose of the Apple Store for Apple, strategically speaking? To be sure, adding more stores certainly won’t hurt Apple’s bottom line, and more retail outlets give them a brick-and-mortar place to exclusively sell the iPhone 5. That being said, if Apple does add Sprint and T-Mobile to the mix of iPhone 5 retailers, they’ll be matching Android store for store in terms of their retail outlets — a scant 30 extra Apple Stores, even if they are placed in the hearts of major cities, would not necessarily supercharge iPhone sales.
Rather, I think that the Apple Store is for the most part a kind of local billboard for further emblazoning the Apple brand onto the brains of consumers. Much like a Chanel store, the Apple Store, while indeed a viable outlet for selling Apple products, may be more about putting the bitten apple logo up in lights — particularly in big cities where large concentrations of consumers are milling about.
Until Apple is able to put an apple Store in every mall and major retail center in the U.S. — much like Radio Shack or Best Buy — the Apple Store still remains a somewhat exclusive boutique — a one-of-a-kind phenomenon in the consumer electronics industry.
But that’s Apple for you.
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