Apple Bucks Trend as Stores Show `Gravitational Pull'

From Bloomberg
Cheng Jian Wei, on a 24-hour visit to New York from China, was willing to risk missing his bus to the airport for the chance to buy his son an iPod at Apple Inc.'s Fifth Avenue store.

His determination helps explain why Apple's 178 U.S. stores may outshine other retailers in what is shaping up as a lackluster holiday selling season. The National Retail Federation predicts a 4 percent revenue gain in November and December, the smallest since 2002, after consumer confidence fell.

"They now produce some of the most-wanted products on the planet,'' said Maggie Gilliam, a retail consultant at New York- based Gilliam & Co. ``The idea of getting one of these super-sexy products at one of these cool stores has great appeal.''

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