Some stores worth far more than others

Apple Stores are now selling an average of $4,709 in goods per square foot, an amount nearly equivalent to the value of the White House, says real estate site Zillow. The White House is estimated to be worth about $4,752 per square foot, although for different reasons. Some luxury retailers are believed to have greater value than Apple, but not any chain based within the US.

The closest competitor is jeweler Tiffany's, which is nevertheless well behind at $2,974 per square foot. Apple has only been operating retail stores for about 11 years, with most of its expansion happening in a much shorter space of time. By October of last year the company had already reached 357 outlets worldwide.

Throwing the significance of Apple's value off somewhat is the disparity between stores. While some see extremely high traffic, such as its Fifth Avenue and Grand Central locations in New York City, many shops are smaller mall-based locations in less populated cities. Apple has been upgrading some outlets to accommodate increasing traffic.

by MacNN Staff