14 DAY TRIAL // In fiscal 2006 - that ended in September - Apple Computer saw their business in Europe reach sales of $4.1 billion, more than the combined total for its 2002, 2003 and 2004 financial years.
"It's an indication of the exponential growth of this business," said Pascal Cagni, the head of Apple Europe. Year on year, European sales were up 27% in the latest quarter, broadly in line with the group as a whole.
Apple's numbers are indeed impressive, but this is not just because of the iPod, and renewed interest in Macs. Apple has been making progress in the educational market, and has managed to take the lead away from its PC competitors. The Cupertino Company has been pushing hard to make itself a top name in the educational market once again, and to offer highly competitive machines with the advantages that only they can give.
But Apple's success in Europe is not due to the educational market alone, and this itself is a very positive sign. Unlike in the United States, Apple has a very limited retail presence in Europe, many countries only having one Apple Retail Store, if any at all. Also, both TV Shows and Movies are unavailable via the iTunes Store in Europe. If Apple is doing so well under the circumstances, one can only imagine how well they will be doing once the iTunes store goes international and they start opening up new stores.