Apple 2008 Annual Report Download - page 5

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Table of Contents
enhance reseller sales, including the Apple Sales Consultant Program, which places Apple employees and contractors at selected third-party
reseller locations. The Company believes providing direct contact with its targeted customers is an efficient way to demonstrate the advantages
of its Mac computers and other products over those of its competitors.
At the end of fiscal 2008, the Company had opened a total of 247 retail stores, including 205 stores in the U.S. and a total of 42 stores
internationally. The Company has typically located its stores at high-traffic locations in quality shopping malls and urban shopping districts.
A goal of the Company’s retail business is to expand its installed base through sales to customers who currently do not already own the
Company’s products. By operating its own stores and locating them in desirable high-traffic locations, the Company is better positioned to
control the customer buying experience and attract new customers. The stores are designed to simplify and enhance the presentation and
marketing of the Company’s products and related solutions. To that end, retail store configurations have evolved into various sizes in order to
accommodate market-specific demands. The stores employ experienced and knowledgeable personnel who provide product advice, service, and
training. The stores offer a wide selection of third-party hardware, software, and various other accessory products and peripherals selected to
complement the Company’s own products.
Education
Throughout its history, the Company has focused on the use of technology in education and has been committed to delivering tools to help
educators teach and students learn. The Company believes effective integration of technology into classroom instruction can result in higher
levels of student achievement, especially when used to support collaboration, information access, and the expression and representation of
student thoughts and ideas. The Company has designed a range of products and services to address the needs of education customers. These
products and services include the Company’s Mac computers, iPods, and iTunes, in addition to various solutions for video creation and editing,
wireless networking, professional development, and one-to-one (“1:1”) learning. A 1:1 learning solution typically consists of a portable
computer for every student and teacher along with the installation of a wireless network.
Enterprise, Government and Creative
The Company also sells its hardware and software products to enterprise, government, and creative customers in each of its geographic
segments. These markets are also important to many third-party developers who provide Mac-compatible hardware and software solutions.
These customers utilize the Company’s products for their high-powered computing performance and expansion capabilities, networking
functionality, and seamless integration with complementary products. The Company designs its high-end hardware solutions, including desktops
such as Mac Pro, portable Mac systems such as MacBook® Pro and MacBook Air™, and servers to incorporate the power, expandability, and
other features desired by these professionals. The Company’s operating system, Mac OS® X, incorporates powerful graphics and audio
technologies and features developer tools to optimize system and application performance.
Other
In addition to consumer, SMB, education, enterprise, government and creative markets, the Company provides hardware and software products
and solutions for customers in the information technology and scientific markets.
Business Organization
The Company manages its business primarily on a geographic basis. The Company’s reportable operating segments consist of the Americas,
Europe, Japan, and Retail. The Americas, Europe, and Japan reportable segments do not include activities related to the Retail segment. The
Americas segment includes both North and South America. The Europe segment includes European countries as well as the Middle East and
Africa. The Retail segment operates Apple-owned retail stores in the U.S. and in international markets. Each reportable geographic operating
segment and the Retail operating segment provide similar hardware and software products and similar services. Further information regarding
the Company’s operating segments may be found in Part II,
2