The Street:

Apple Stores turn out to be very good neighbors, and have become the new mall anchor store, a role once held by department stores, because they draw lots of foot traffic, which also benefits the smaller stores.

The presence of an Apple Store in a mall also increases the value of a mall and allows mall owners to raise square-footage rates for other tenants.

While it’s not all sunshine and lollipops for fellow tenants, an Apple store in a mall at least gives those retailers a fighting chance to capture some of the dollars those customers are bringing to the mall. I’d be curious to know if, like the prime spots near Apple during Macworld Expos, whether mall owners charge more for stores the closer they are to Apple.