apple: america's best retailer

There's a very interesting story about Apple in the latest edition of Fortune magazine. This time about how Apple has transformed itself into America's best retailer, beating the 'sales per square foot a year' of established retailers such as Saks, Best Buy and even Tiffany's (read article here, sub. req.).
According to the article, a research report by Sanford C. Bernstein, shows that the averages of Apple's 174 stores is US$ 4,032 psf/year, against Saks' $362, Best Buy's $ 930, and Tiffany's $ 2,666.
Not so surprising considering the stores' relative small size (compared to other, much bigger department stores) and the number of people who frequent them. See the line outside the Regent St Apple Store, in London, below (2005 Christmas season).