Apple retail conquers (or at least draws crowds in) Rome

If anyone has any doubt that Apple's retail store has become an international phenomenon, they should check out the mob at the opening of the Rome Apple store. Apparently, Italians are even more obsessed with the coolness of iPods, MacBooks, and all things Apple than Americans are.

As we've noted previously, Apple stores are the most successful retail stores ever built in terms of revenue per square foot. The Rome Est Apple store, built in a somewhat rural part of Rome, now joins other international flagship stores such as the Regent Street store in London and the Ginza Apple Store in Tokyo.

All we can say is that we're glad Steve Jobs didn't listen to Business Week in 2001 when they said that because the Gateway Country Stores and Apple's deal with Best Buy didn't work out, Apple didn't have a chance with its retail strategy. I predict that by 2010, you'll see an Apple retail store in nearly city that has a Gucci or Rolex store. And given the ongoing decline in the print magazine business, that's probably more than we can say for BusinessWeek.

Full disclosure: the author is long Apple shares at the time of this writing.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Apple Store, Ginza, Regent Street, Retail