Apple Retail- the unsung hero of Jobs' post-return?

Hello folks, Appleinsider has posted a really interesting perspective made by a new investment note from Bernstein Research.

It looks like Apple(AAPL) retail segment is doing really well, and as one user wrote in a comment; it seems its the unsung hero of Steve Jobs' post-return success.

Everyone talks about the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone, iTunes, expanding the company into consumer electronics, etc. But none of that would have really been possible without the retail initiative. iPods would have gotten buried on CompUSA and Best Buy shelves.
It was his boldest and riskiest move, one that very few gave any chance of succeeding.
But it was the foundation for everything that has happened since, and it will pave the way far into the future.

The report states that Apple stores' Mac sales beat PC stores sales by 10-to-1.

Even more amazing is that in tems of retail efficiency, For fiscal 2007, all of the Cupertino, Calif.-based firm's retail space earned roughly $4,500 per square foot.

The figure contrasts starkly with big-box retailer Best Buy, who despite its success has only managed to earn $930 for the same floor space. Even the very profitable jeweler Tiffany & Company netted just $2,750 for every square foot in the same timeframe and was free from the competition of a shopping mall.