Oh FFS !
was my initial thought on reading this ....
We really need a "FFS !" icon.
One of the US’s major mall operators blamed Apple for dragging down the performance of its high end properties, potentially compounding the discomfort for the i company. Last month Apple reported results that were - for the tech juggernaut - slightly lacklustre, precipitating a share slide that made it the former most valuable …
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Apple has done better YoY every quarter, but that doesn't mean sales from Apple Stores aren't down, if more people are buying from apple.com.
It might even be just that the Apple Stores in the US are down, or just Apple Stores in General Growth's malls are down.
I'm pretty sure that in years when Apple Stores in their malls have experienced a big growth in sales they aren't calling it out and saying "our 6% growth would be only 3% if we didn't include Apple". But now that Apple is a drag they want to separate it out. Live by the sword, die by the sword...
Well haters gonna hate, but why is Apple more likely to do that than some other store in their mall like Tiffany's?
Likely almost all of the Apple Store sales are via debit/credit, so if GG suspected that they could ask to audit the amounts Apple's payment processor is reporting for that store each month. I'm sure a mall conglomerate has a pretty good handle on insuring the reported sales are accurate.
Malls are more concerned about the foot traffic as higher foot traffic usually = higher overall sales and rents. Anchor stores generate a lot of foot traffic so they get a better deal then the smaller retailers. Apple is likely treated as an anchor store so the malls are relying on them to generate overall foot traffic. My guess is that Apple stores are not drawing the same turnout as they used even if overall sales remain strong.
The Irish malls are driving local businesses and anything without a high margin back to inner city. Greed. They are massively expensive. Also restrictive. Only one "pharmacy"/Chemist can actually do prescription and only one supermarket.
I don't know of any with an Apple Store, though Carphone Warehouse is nearly as pointless. Tesco sells iThings as well as Samsung etc. Both seems a mad place to buy tech though.
"Last month Apple reported results that were - for the tech juggernaut - slightly lacklustre, precipitating a share slide that made it the former most valuable company in the world."
No: The Apple results were not remotely 'lacklustre'.
No: Apple is not the 'former' most valuable company, as of February 3 anyway. GOOG shares fell and knocked it off the perceptual pedestal.
Yes: Amidst the hysterical hysteria of WallNut Street, Apple is wisely projecting a rare decline in year over year earnings NEXT quarter. Therefore, let's blame the state of WallNut Street's paranoia and the state of the world economy at Apple's door, sell all our AAPL and buy more guns. (o_0)
OR we could figure out that there's something a bit loony about Sandeep Mathrani, CEO at General Growth Properties.
It can be based on a percentage of your sales. So if one of your larger retailers doesn't make money then neither do you. Also, Apple is like an anchor store. They are expected to bring business into the mall for the other stores. So, if Apple stores are down then all the stores are going to be less than expected.
It's important to remember that these numbers exclude tennants using over 10000 square feet, such as any major department stores. That's because, like Apple, they're able to get a better deal on their rents due to high turnover and desirability. It would be interesting to see how Apple Stores compare with the larger tennants. I suspect, but I'm not certain, that adding Apple to those numbers would have the opposite effect. (Apple stores are insanely profitable, and their baseline turnover skews the metric somewhat, so it's possible they're doing better than a Macy's or a Nordstrom.)
It's a pretty meaningless measure anyway, unless you're the CEO of a building management company whining about how you can't just demand more money from some of your most successful clients.
Actually, a viable food source for humans too. They just need to be marketed under an Apple brand. Maybe I should register iFood.
Nutritional content of the American Cockroach:
http://www.examiner.com/article/nutritional-content-of-the-american-cockroach-periplaneta-americana-l