Report: Apple stores outperform Best Buy, Saks and Tiffany

How productive are Apple's (AAPL) retail outlets?

"Out of this world" according to a report issued this morning by Toni Sacconaghi of Bernstein Research. In fiscal year 2007, he estimates, Apple stores generated an average of nearly $4,500 in sales per square foot -- a figure far higher than any other consumer electronics or luxury retailer. That's nearly five times the productivity of Best Buy, for example, one of the most efficient consumer retail outlets, and nearly 12 times that of Saks. Only Tiffany & Company comes close, with sales of $2,750 per square foot. (see charts at right)

The findings were part of a follow-up to the in-depth report on Apple's retail strategy that Bernstein Research issued a year ago. Since then, Apple has opened 20 new stores (total: more than 200) and reportedly has plans to expand to China, France, Germany and elsewhere.

Among the report's other findings:

• Mac sales per store grew 26 percent year-to-year in fiscal 2007. Apple's brick and mortar stores sold an average of 8,000 Macs in 2007, or a "stunning" 21.4 per day.
• Apple Stores boosted the company's total revenue by at least $1.35 billion (5.6 percent) during the year, with gross margins of 42 percent (versus 34 percent for Apple overall)
• Despite the high gross margins, the stores have somewhat lower profitability than the company overall because of high operating expenses. The average Apple Store has 40 full-time-equivalent employees, double the number four years earlier. All told, Sacconaghi estimates that the retail segment's operating margin was 16.9 percent for the year, compared with 18.4 percent for Apple overall.