Attention Apple addicts. There's a new dealer in town.

The first official Apple Retail Store in Alaska is scheduled to open at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Anchorage 5th Avenue mall.

Owned and operated by Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Inc., the stores sell products and accessories -- iPhones, iPads, MacBooks -- plus offer technical assistance and answer questions at a store "Genius Bar."

The new Anchorage shop can be found adjacent to the Nordstrom skybridge at the downtown mall, a spokeswoman said.

She declined to say how many employees will work at the store, which will be open until 8 p.m. Saturday.

There are 238 Apple Retail Stores in the United States, a spokeswoman said. The Anchorage store, along with a store opening this weekend in Murray, Utah (pop. 45,000) will make 240.

Apple's retail shops bring in more money per square foot than the jeweler Tiffany & Co. or luxury retailer Coach Inc., The Wall Street Journal reported in June.

The company is also a major investment for the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., which manages the state's massive oil savings and investment account. As of the June 30, the corporation had more than $207 million invested in the technology company -- making it the Permanent Fund's largest stockholding.

Call Kyle Hopkins at 257-4334 or email khopkins@adn.com.