Apple to Unveil New Store in Berkeley on Saturday

The soon-to-be eleventh Apple retail store will be unveiled at 1823 Fourth street Berkeley, California on Saturday. The first 1000 customers will receive a free commemorative T- shirt at the grand opening, which starts at 10 am.

The new Apple store will definitely rewrite the rules of business as all Apple stores not only sell iPhones, iPads and other Apple products but also offer a rich cultural and retail experience.

Apple products also do not just offer simple productivity, they redefine entertainment and fashion lifestyle.

The uncluttered Apple stores, with iPhones and MacBook laptops on the wood tables, have already become destinations for customers from all over the world and are becoming hubs for people’s digital lifestyle.

“Just as every device-maker is saying, 'I want to be Apple,' I think every retailer is looking at them, taking notes and saying, 'I want to be like Apple,' ” Steven Addis said, the CEO of Berkeley-based branding company Addis Creson.

Last week, five apple stores were launched: Two in the U.S. and three overseas including one in Florence, Italy. There would be another 30 new Apple stores opened before the end of September.

"These stores are bulging at the seams," Needham analyst Charlie Wolf said. "I went into the Fifth Avenue store (in New York City) a week or two ago, and I couldn't move," he said. "It was unbelievably packed."

But this does not mean any worse service. Wolf also claimed that there would be someone who can give a help when you buy a product.

Although Wolf noted that the average annual Apple store revenue of 2010 reached $34.1 million, translating into sales of $4,406 per square foot - undoubtedly the highest among all retail chains in the world - he said that Apple couldn't open the stores fast enough, particularly the international stores and that's a cause for concern because Over half of Apple's business is international.