The Apple Store is a chain of retail stores owned and operated by Apple. The stores sell, service and repair various Apple products, including Mac desktop and MacBook laptop personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad tablet computers, Apple Watch smartwatches, Apple TV digital media players, software, and both Apple-branded and selected third-party accessories.
The first Apple Stores were originally opened as two locations in May 2001 by then-CEO Steve Jobs, after years of attempting but failing store-within-a-store concepts. Seeing a need for improved retail presentation of the company's products, he began an effort in 1997 to revamp the retail program to get an improved relationship with consumers and hired Ron Johnson in 2000. Jobs relaunched Apple's online store in 1997 and opened the first two physical stores in 2001. The media initially speculated that Apple would fail, but its stores were highly successful, bypassing the sales numbers of competing nearby stores and within three years reached US$1 billion in annual sales, becoming the fastest retailer in history to do so. Apple has expanded the number of retail locations and its geographical coverage over the years, with 540 stores across 27 countries and regions worldwide. Strong product sales have placed Apple among the top-tier retail stores, with sales over $16 billion globally in 2011.
Many Apple Stores are located inside shopping malls, but Apple has built several stand-alone "flagship" stores in high-profile locations. It has been granted design patents and received architectural awards for its stores' designs and construction, specifically for its use of glass staircases and cubes. The success of Apple Stores has had significant influence over other consumer electronics retailers, who have lost traffic, control and profits due to perceived higher quality of service and products at Apple Stores. Apple's notable brand loyalty among consumers causes long lines of hundreds of people at new Apple Store openings or product releases. Due to the popularity of the brand, Apple receives many job applications, many of which come from young workers. Apple Store employees receive above-average pay, are offered money toward education and health care, and receive product discounts. A May 2016 report with an anonymous retail employee highlighted a hostile work environment with harassment from customers, intense internal criticism, and a lack of significant bonuses for securing major business contracts.
Overview
Many Apple Stores are located inside shopping malls, but Apple has several stand-alone flagship stores in high-profile locations, such as the one located in Grand Central Terminal in New York City. Several multi-level stores feature glass staircases, and some also glass bridges. The New York Times wrote in 2011 that these features were part of then-CEO Steve Jobs' extensive attention to detail, and Apple received a design patent in 2002 for its glass staircase design. Historically, Apple has partnered with architectural firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson in designing and creating its original retail stores, and has in recent years partnered with architectural firm Foster + Partners in designing its newer stores, as well as its corporate Apple Park campus.
Apple has received numerous architectural awards for its store designs, and its "iconic" glass cube, designed in part by Peter Bohlin, at Apple's Fifth Avenue store in New York City, received a separate design patent in 2014.
Ron Johnson held the position of Senior Vice President of Retail Operations from 2001 until November 1, 2011. During his tenure, it was reported that while Johnson was responsible for site selection, in-store service, and store layout, inventory was controlled by then-COO and now-CEO Tim Cook, who has a background in supply chain management. In January 2012, Apple transferred retail leadership to John Browett. However, after attempts to cut costs, including reducing new hires and limiting staff hours, he was fired after six months, later telling a conference that he "just didn't fit with the way they ran the business". In October 2013, Apple hired Angela Ahrendts from Burberry. When Ahrendts left in April 2019, Deirdre O’Brien expanded from Worldwide Sales and Operations, to People, and currently, to People and Retail. In an interview with Funke Mediengruppe in May 2021 she commented, Apple is sticking to its plan to open more stores around the globe in the future, as reported by Bloomberg.
Work environment
Due to the popularity of the brand, applicants for jobs at Apple Stores are numerous, with many young workers applying. The pace of work is high due to the popularity of the iPhone and iPad. Employees typically work for only a few years as career prospects are limited with no path of advancement other than limited retail management slots. Apple Store employees make above-average pay for retail employees and are offered benefits including 401(k) plans, product discounts, and reduced price on stock. The retention rate for the technicians who staff the Genius Bar is more than 90%.
A May 2016 Business Insider article featured a lengthy interview with an anonymous Apple Store retail worker in the United Kingdom, where the employee highlighted significant dissatisfaction and issues for retail workers, including harassment and death threats from customers, an intense internal criticism policy that feels "like a cult", a lack of any significant bonus if a worker manages to secure a business contract worth "hundreds of thousands", a lack of promotion opportunities, and are paid so little that many workers are unable to buy products themselves even with a "generous" discount on any Apple product or Apple stock.
According to an April 2022 press release, over 70 percent of the eligible employees at the Cumberland Mall Apple Store in Atlanta, Georgia, were interested in unionizing. The employees asked for a $28 per hour wage, better benefits, and profit-sharing. However, the Towson Town Center Apple Store in Towson, Maryland, became the first store to join a union in June 2022. In April 2026, Apple announced the Towson store would be closing in June. Apple blamed the closing on declining mall business conditions; the union voiced its suspicions of a disguised attempt to bust the union.
Countries and regions
Country / Region Date offirst store Location offirst store Date oflatest store Location oflatest store Number of stores May 19, 2001 Tysons Corner Center, Tysons Corner, Virginia December 12, 2025 The Shops at Blackstone Valley, Massachusetts 269 July 19, 2008 Sanlitun, Beijing December 6, 2025 Livat Centre, Beijing 50 November 20, 2004 Regent Street, London July 26, 2025 Solihull, Birmingham 39 May 21, 2005 Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Toronto January 16, 2026 Saint Catherine Street, Montreal 28 June 19, 2008 George Street, Sydney June 27, 2025 Perth City, Perth 22 November 7, 2009 Carrousel du Louvre, Paris November 18, 2018 Champs-Élysées, Paris 20 March 31, 2007 Centro Commerciale Roma Est, Rome May 27, 2021 Via del Corso, Rome 17 December 6, 2008 1 Rosenstrasse, Munich, Bavaria December 2, 2021 Rosenthaler Strasse, Berlin 16 September 4, 2010 La Maquinista, Barcelona November 28, 2024 La Vaguada, Madrid 12 November 30, 2003 Ginza, Tokyo(original) September 26, 2025 Ginza, Tokyo(renovated 2022–2025) 11 January 27, 2018 Garosu-gil, Seoul January 20, 2024 Hongdae, Seoul, South Korea 7 September 24, 2011 ifc Mall, Central and Western District September 22, 2016 apm Hong Kong 6 April 18, 2023 Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai, Maharashtra February 26, 2026 Sky City Mall, Mumbai, Maharashtra 6 October 29, 2015 Mall of the Emirates, DubaiYas Mall, Abu Dhabi September 25, 2025 Al Jimi Mall, Al Ain 5 September 25, 2008 Rue de Rive, Geneva July 12, 2014 Freie Strasse, Basel 4 March 3, 2012 Hirschbuilding, Leidseplein, Amsterdam August 9, 2014 De Passage, The Hague 3 May 27, 2017 Orchard Road September 10, 2020 Marina Bay Sands 3 April 5, 2014 Zorlu Center, Istanbul October 22, 2021 Bağdat Caddesi, Istanbul 3 September 15, 2012 Westfield Täby Centrum, Täby September 20, 2024 Westfield Mall of Scandinavia, Solna 3 February 15, 2014 VillageMall, Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro April 18, 2015 Morumbi, São Paulo 2 June 25, 2016 Galaxy Macau June 29, 2018 The Londoner Macao 2 July 1, 2017 Taipei 101, Taipei June 15, 2019 Xinyi A13, Taipei 2 September 24, 2016 Centro Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Mexico City September 28, 2019 Centro Comercial Antara Fashion Hall, Mexico City 2 November 10, 2018 Iconsiam, Bangkok July 31, 2020 CentralWorld, Bangkok 2 September 19, 2015 Avenue de la Toison d’Or, Brussels 1 February 24, 2018 Kärntner Straße, Vienna 1 June 22, 2024 The Exchange TRX, Kuala Lumpur 1 Total 537 stores
History Third-party retail Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, returned to the company as interim CEO in 1997. According to his biographer Walter Isaacson, Jobs began a concerted campaign to help sales by improving the retail presentation of Macintosh computers. Even with new products launched under his watch, like the iMac and the PowerBook G3 and an online store, Apple still relied heavily on big-box computer and electronics stores for most of its sales. There, customers continued to deal with poorly trained and ill-maintained Mac sections that did not foster customer loyalty to Apple and did not help differentiate the Mac user experience from Windows. In fact, the retailer trend was towards selling their own generic in-house brand PCs which used even cheaper components than those by major PC makers, increasing retailer overall margins by keeping the manufacturing profits. This "provided a powerful profit motive to convert customers interested in buying a Mac into the owners of a new, cheaply assembled, house brand PC".
Tim Cook, who joined Apple in 1998 as Senior Vice President for Worldwide Operations, announced the company would "cut some channel partners that may not be providing the buying experience [Apple expects]. We're not happy with everybody." Jobs severed Apple's ties with every big box retailer, including Sears, Montgomery Ward, Best Buy, Circuit City, Computer City, and OfficeMax to focus its retail efforts with CompUSA—which reached an agreement to establish dedicated departments for Apple hardware, staffed by trained employees and representatives. Apple also worked with local user groups to promote launch events for new hardware and Mac OS releases.
Between 1997 and 2000, the number of Mac authorized resellers dropped from 20,000 to just 11,000. The majority of these were cuts made by Apple itself. Jobs proclaimed that Apple would be targeting Dell as a competitor, with Cook's mandate to match or exceed Dell's lean inventories and streamlined supply chain. Jobs made an open statement to Michael Dell, "with our new products and our new store and our new build-to-order, we're coming after you, buddy." While Dell had operated as direct mail order and online order company, having pulled out of retailers to realize greater profit margins and efficiency, Apple had direct orders with sales handled by its channel partners, other mail order resellers, independent dealerships, and the new relationship with CompUSA.