AppleInsider Staff
Apple has reportedly signed a 12-year lease for an entire building along Paris' historic Avenue des Champs-Élysées, where it plans to open a flagship Apple Store in the next two to three years .
According to Mac Generation, which cites a report from Le Figaro, Apple intends to house a store on the lower levels of the seven-story 114 Avenue des Champs-Élysées location, leaving upper floors for office space. Annual rent for the space comes in at an estimated 12 million euros.
While the real estate deal was struck late last year after months of negotiations, it could be some time before Apple moves in or begins to renovate the old Haussmannian building. The report claims renowned architect and close Apple partner Norman Foster will be handling the build, but needs to first gain the appropriate permits.
Apple currently operates 19 Apple Store outlets in France, including a pop-up Apple Watch shop at the Galerie Lafayette department store.
Apple was first rumored to open a retail location on the Champs-Élysées in 2003, with reports at the time claiming the popular Paris shopping district was in Apple's sights from the beginning. The company ultimately looked elsewhere in Paris, as it could not find a suitable location offering a long-term lease.
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8 Comments
Finally, a reason to visit Paris! ;)
Wow, classy location!
As it is, this building requires costly and lengthy transformations (in a classified zone), to be used as an Apple Store. It is strange Apple did not take the opportunity of the closing down of the large nearby Virgin MegaStore, which was perfectly tailored to become an Apple store ....
It's usually a tell-tale sign of slowing growth at traditional retailers when new store growth starts to slow down. At Apple you see the opposite effect. Opening of new retail stores accelerating (especially in new markets), while analysts claiming that overall growth is slowing... How does that work? Analysts must have some insight that Apple doesn't!