A senior Apple official said that the companyis new Bolyston Street store in Boston reflects plans to expand retail ventures both in the U.S. and abroad.

The new 20,000 square foot store stands out in glass and steel, and is the second largest Apple store in the world, after the London Regent Street store. "These stores have served them very, very well and really raised the bar in terms of technology customer service," said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Jupiter Research.

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Appleis retail stores continue to grow in number and revenue. The average store earns US$7.1M a year, up from a year ago of $4.8M and earn an aggregate $1.5B annually for Apple.

Appleis Senior V.P. of Retail Sales Ron Johnson said that Appleis retail stores will be an important driver of future sales. "Today, Apple is about 50 percent international revenue and about 50 percent in the U.S.," he told Reuters recently. "We increasingly want to get our retail presence out in the other countries."

With Appleis team now wearing color-coded shirts, as on the starship Enterprise, representing the concierge (orange), salespeople (aqua), and the geniuses (dark blue) and the futuristic look of Appleis stores, the final frontier has arrived early on Earth and is fueling Appleis success.