Fifth Avenue press event

In the city that never sleeps, neither will Apple's flagship store. That's the tagline that Apple used at its press event this morning hosted by Apple retail exec Ron Johnson. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster told clients that while the company has no plans to roll-out the 24-7 format to other stores, the Fifth Avenue location will be the first Apple store to be open 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, including Genius Bar and The Studio: "The reasoning behind the concept is this: People come to New York and want to visit the Apple store, but sometimes run out of time," Munster wrote. "The store has 100 Macs, twice as many as the SoHo store, and 200 iPods. The store will be staffed with 300 employees and there will be 96 people to support the Genius Bar alone. As a side note, the store had 5,000 applicants for these jobs." The analyst also touched on Apple's signature design elements, including the 32-foot glass cube at the entrance, the elevator, and the staircase. The firm maintains an 'outperform' rating on Apple stock with a price target of $99.

by MacNN Staff