33 stores planned by end of September

Apple has revealed several important details about its retail chain in relation to a new store in Penrith, Australia, says local publication Current.com.au, quoting an Apple spokesperson. The first is that Apple has seen over 1 billion visitors during the 10 years the chain has been active. Asked to explain why Apple Stores are so successful, the spokesperson cites customer service. "We had over 1 million customers sign-up for our Personal Setup offering last quarter alone," according to the representative.

The company is also planning an extremely rapid expansion of retail before the end of the year. "Our retail offering continues to grow, with Penrith the 11th store in Australia, since we opened Apple Store Sydney just three years ago. Globally we are planning to have 363 stores in fiscal 2011," says the spokesperson.

Apple's fiscal year ends September 25th. Currently the corporation has only 330 stores, which means that it will have to open another 33 worldwide in a span of just over two months. The pace is virtually unprecedented, representing an average of one new location every 50 hours. Apple does however tend to cluster store openings toward the end of the year, as it tries to have as many as possible running before the peak of the holiday shopping season.

by MacNN Staff