Apple plans to open three stores in France
At the entrance to the Carrousel du Louvre, the shopping mall beneath the pyramid of the Paris museum, a sign indicating the names of shops. But space is left blank on the billboard from the list of stores, the letter between A and B. For the first Apple store in France, called the Apple Store by connoisseurs, only opens its doors Saturday. The name is not registered yet. But the store is there. Of 715 m2, the shop has two levels, all products of the firm at the apple. "This is the 277th store group. We'll open a second in Paris next summer at the Opera. In addition, we also have an Apple Store in Montpellier, "said Pascal Cagni, the head of the firm at the apple in Europe.
Even Ron Johnson, the boss of Apple Store in the world, has made the trip from the headquarters in Cupertino (California), for the inauguration in Paris.The Apple Store Paris was created long after New York, London or Tokyo. "We made the bet in 2001 to open a new generation of stores in urban centers. For Paris, we wanted to find the place before opening our store, "said Ron Johnson. All retail Apple Store has achieved 18% of the turnover of the group on the biennium 2008-2009, which ended late September. But the activity of the Apple Store has dropped slightly. The reason? "Two years ago, we decided to also offer our products in the distribution system Best Buy in the United States. Customers go there now only in the Apple Store, "said Ron Johnson. Nevertheless, about 25 store openings outside the United States are scheduled for the next twelve months.It is true that most of the Group's network of Steve Jobs is still located in the United States with 218 stores.
The Apple Store in the Carrousel du Louvre, however, will not open 24 hours over 24 in contrast to that of New York, located on Fifth Avenue near Central Park. "Only one Apple Store in the world is open permanently," said Ron Johnson. The Big Apple!
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