Today in TechApple being offered free rent just to open up stores
Apple Stores are increasingly seen as a sign of affluence, a sign that a neighborhood "has arrived." It turns out that some cities are more anxious to arrive than others, offering Apple sweetheart deals to open new stores — deals that often include Apple getting to move in rent-free.
A deal recently signed in Utah is bringing an Apple Store to the City Creek Center in downtown Salt Lake City. And according to independent sources, the unprecedented deal was sweet indeed: Apple was given five years' free rent to move in.
Salt Lake is far from the only city anxious to bring Apple to their doorstep. New York's MTA transit authority offered Apple a bargain-priced deal of $60 per square foot to open a store in Grand Central Terminal, well below the $200 per square foot that other retailers pay. Further, that deal lacks a clause that would give the city's subway system a cut of Apple's profits, a clause common to all other stores renting space in Grand Central. Apple also made a deal with Chicago officials, scoring 10 years' of free rent in exchange for $4 million to renovate a nearby subway station.
It's not that Apple needs the help, of course — the company is actually the largest in existence, with a net worth nearing half-a-trillion dollars. Neighboring stores like Apple's presence, as an Apple Store increases foot traffic, and brings more upscale clientele. It all just goes to show: When you're as popular as Apple is, you don't even need to work to make money. It's handed to you on a brushed aluminum platter.
[via Ars Technica]
This article was written by Fox Van Allen and originally appeared on Tecca
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