It is no secret that Apple stores are doing very well, and this week the company's flagship UK store reached another significant landmark. Apple is constantly expanding its retail presence and its shops have become a standard.

The Regent Street Apple store hit ten million customers this week, a significant milestone for any retail store in such a short time. Apple shopper Michal Revivo got quite a surprise upon entering the store and being applauded by the employees. The staff had been waiting eagerly all morning, and presented her with a prize, guaranteed to make any Apple buyer happy. As the ten millionth visitor, Apple gave Revivo a complementary black MacBook, an iPod nano and a One-to-One personal training membership.

The Regent Street store opened in November 2004 and since then, due to the constantly growing demand, the company had to remodel in 2006 in order to add another 10,000-square feet of shopping space and increase the products available for trying out by 75 per cent.

The company is seeing similar success worldwide, with over 220 million people visiting Apple stores all over the world since they began to open back in May 2001. With over 197 stores at the moment, and many more under way, Apple has become a major retail force, and its stores are seen as a standard against which other stores are measured, not just in terms of products but also services and customer experience.

Despite having such success with its retail store, Apple is also expanding through partnerships with various retailers. The 'store within a store' model may not stand up to the standards of full-blown Apple Stores, but this makes it far easier for the company to reach customers in places where there are currently no Apple stores. Similarly, dedicated stores for Apple products like those due to open soon in India allow the company to sell more products than they could through other methods.