Is there a cause-and -effect when it comes to the growth of Apple retail outlets and increasing market for the Cupertino, Calif. company? While pointing to a direct link may be too strong, one analyst is suggestion a potential correlation between the two.
In a report released overnight to investors, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty talks about the “Positive Correlation Between Apple Store Expansion and Mac Market Share.” Just two examples: Between Sept. 2003 and Sept. 2009, Apple opened 123 U.S. stores. During the same period, the Mac’s U.S. marketshare grew from 3 percent to 9 percent. In Western Europe, after Apple opened 33 stores, the company’s marketshare jumped from 1.5 percent to 5 percent.
All of this as Apple looks to other regions to continue its growth. China appears to be the next country to receive Mac stores – 25 to be exact. China could boost Apple share prices to up to $435 in a year, Huberty contends.
[via Fortune]
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
