After the runaway success of the Regent Street branch in London, the US technology giant has opened its second London outlet at Covent Garden. Thousands of Apple fans again queued to be one of the first into the swish new Covent Garden store – the largest Apple store in the world.

The three-floor shop, which earlier used to be a nightclub, is a temple to the Californian company’s gadgets, with separate rooms for Macs, iPads, iPhones and iPods. Some apple shoppers camped overnight to be first into the store, which employs 300 staff.

Recent problems with the newest version of the iPhone have failed to dent the company’s sales and last month it reported record quarterly figures, as its retail arm turned over $2.6bn (£1.6bn). It sold 8.4m iPhones in the three months to 26 June, a leap of 61% on the same period a year ago. In May, it overtook Microsoft as the biggest technology company by market value.

The new Covent Garden store, which is the company’s 300th retail outlet, will take the strain off Apple’s Regent Street branch which, when it opened in November 2004, was the first outside the US. A Mecca for tourists and Londoners, it is, according to analysts, the most profitable shop in the country, raking in £60m a year.

You can have a sneak peak at the new Apple store in the Video below:

“We are thrilled to open a store in this amazing location,” said Ron Johnson, Apple’s senior vice-president of retail.

Staff reported seeing the actors Nicholas Hoult, David Morrissey and Tom Felton, as well as the comedian Matt Lucas. Among the well-known female fans was singer Sharleen Spiteri.

Harry Potter star Jason Isaacs bought an iPad. “If I did anything other than acting it would be working in the [technical support] Genius Bar,” said the Apple fan, who admitted he could often be found at the company’s Regent Street store hoping staff would be busy so he could help out. “I am one of those people who reads manuals cover to cover.”