Success breeds: Now even banks are emulating Apple

Here’s a strange hint of Apple’s growing influence in the financial sector: Citibank intends opening a series of branches all across Europe — branches modelled on an Apple Store!

The bank would be seeking to slim down and target major cities in France, Britain and Germany, the Financial Times claims. The notion is to focus on 100 cities offering large, flagship outlets modelled on the Apple stores.

Citi has been openiong new generation ‘smart banking’ stores across Asia Pacific. These feature state-of-the-art technologies, like interactive touch panels, video-conferencing and a “media wall” displaying the latest financial data, FinExtra states.

With this in mind, it is pretty clear that Apple’s retail chief, Ron Johnson, has a bright future should he ever choose to seek new challenges. Though speculation such as that doesn’t mean he has.