Apple's 'stunning' Grand Central Station store: By the numbers

The tech giant opens a gleaming retail space within the Beaux Arts landmark. But did the government landlord give Apple too sweet of a deal?

Apple's new Grand Central Station store opened to the public last week, reportedly welcoming 4,000 people on the New York City location's first day.
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

On Friday, thousands lined up for the opening of the new Apple store at Grand Central Station in New York City. The new location is one of Apple's largest in the world. Here, a brief numerical guide to the "stunning" new store:

23,030

Square footage of the new Apple store at Grand Central Terminal, making it one of the largest Apple stores in the world, and the second-biggest tenant at Grand Central. The largest space is the 25,000-square-foot Oyster Bar & Restaurant.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

315

Employees working in the store

2,500

People waiting in line before the store first opened on Friday, according to Apple

4,000

People who visited the store on its first day, according to Apple

300 million

People around the world who have visited an Apple store this year, according to Apple

60 million

People who visited Disney's four biggest theme parks last year

$2.5 million

Amount Apple reportedly spent renovating the space at Grand Central

$5 million

Amount Apple reportedly paid to buy out the previous tenant. The restaurant, Metrazur, wasn't due to move out for eight years. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority may have actually ponied up the $5 million, though agency officials insist that the funds came from Apple

More than 400

Percentage increase in annual rent the MTA will reportedly collect from this space now that Apple has replaced Metrazur

$60

Amount per square foot that Apple is paying for the space, according to some reports. That's well below many of Apple's Grand Central neighbors, prompting a probe by the state Assembly.

$180

Amount per square foot that Apple is paying, according to Aaron Donovan, an MTA spokesman. Apple is "quadrupling the rent we receive and bringing foot traffic to Grand Central Terminal that will increase revenue from all of our retailers," he says.

$86.86

Amount per square foot that upscale restaurant Cipriani pays at Grand Central. Apple may be paying a premium rental price because it did not agree to share revenue with the MTA, unlike all of the station's other 99 tenants.

750,000

People who are expected to pass by the store each day

$100 million

Sales the new store is expected to net for Apple each year

70

Percent that Apple's retail sales, not including online sales, increased in 2010

4.5

Percentage growth for the overall retail industry during that same period

Sources: Daily News, Mashable, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.