Apple 2009 Annual Report Download - page 5

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Table of Contents
to consumers and businesses through its retail and online stores. The Company has also invested in programs to enhance reseller sales, including
the Apple Sales Consultant Program, which places Apple employees and contractors at selected third-
party reseller locations, and the Apple
Premium Reseller Program, through which independently run businesses focus on the Apple platform and provide a high level of customer
service and product expertise. The Company believes providing direct contact with its targeted customers is an efficient way to demonstrate the
advantages of its products over those of its competitors.
At the end of fiscal 2009, the Company had opened a total of 273 retail stores, including 217 stores in the U.S. and 56 stores internationally. The
Company has typically located its stores at high-
traffic locations in quality shopping malls and urban shopping districts. 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 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 accessories and peripherals that complement the Company’s 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, which
includes one-to-one (“1:1”)
learning. A 1:1 learning solution typically consists of a networked environment that includes a portable computer for
every student and teacher. In addition, the Company supports mobile learning and real-
time distribution and accessibility of education related
materials through iTunes U, which allows students and teachers to share and distribute educational media directly through their computers and
mobile communication devices.
Enterprise, Government and Creative
The Company also sells its hardware and software products to customers in enterprise, government and creative markets in each of its
geographic segments. These markets are also important to many third-party developers who provide Mac-
compatible hardware and software
solutions. Customers in these markets utilize the Company’s products because of 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 Mac Pro desktops, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air portable systems, and Xserve
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
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