Scene This Week In…

It seems that no matter when I go by the Apple store in The Mall it is always busy. At 11 o’clock today, there were more people in the upper level cool toy emporium than any of the other 202 stores in the center.

Today, according to this report by George Anders in Bloomberg, Apple, Inc became the top ranked company in terms of global stock market capitalization. Despite the current market turmoil, Apple became “the world's most valuable company, with a stock-market capitalization of about $342 billion.”

“Just 14 years ago, Apple's business consisted almost entirely of a small and dwindling share of the personal computer market. Today, as Bloomberg's Adam Satariano points out, Apple gets two-thirds of its revenue from iPhones and iPads, two products that didn't exist five years ago. Apple keeps its growth-stock valuation because investors feel confident that the company hasn't run out of big ideas.”

I am old enough to remember when IBM was eating Apples lunch in PC sales. In the mid to late eighties, John Sculley was the CEO and the stock was selling for under six bucks a share. Of course back then I could no better afford the stock than I can now. Some things never change.

Over in Ellicott City some merchants and historic purists are chafing at the arrival of a Subway sandwich shop on Main Street. As I commented back in March, I think these people are missing the point. As Doug Miller wrote in a recent opinion piece in Explore Howard, “Subway can't kill what Main Street has going for it.”

Subway seems to be approaching their Main Street with a little respect for its unique location. The store has been branded a “Subway Café,” the chains new upscale store format. It is decidedly fancier than your run of the mill strip center Subway.

In any event, it will be a vast improvement over Sweets Bakery which formerly occupied the space.