Apple Secretly Planning Massive New Store

Apple is quietly planning to open a huge new store in Europe, in what could become one of the biggest on the continent.

A building permit filed in Zurich confirms Apple is planning a new retail store at Lintheschergasse 7, near the city's famous Bahnhofstrasse shopping street, with construction set to run through early 2027.

The permit, submitted to the city of Zurich in February and reviewed by Swiss Apple publication macprime, explicitly describes the project as a "Bahnhofstrasse Relocation" and includes Apple's internal designation "R159" for its Zurich store. The planned location sits at the corner of Lintheschergasse and Usteristrasse, adjacent to the Globus department store.

According to a person with knowledge of Apple's retail planning, the company's current Rennweg store was never intended as a permanent home. "The Rennweg store was planned as a temporary location, since the entrance has stairs and an elevator," the person told MacRumors. They said it was already an open secret when Apple left Bahnhofstrasse that the company was seeking a significantly larger space, and that a dedicated team was tasked with identifying possible buildings before the construction and planning department took over.

According to the permit documents, the ground floor, labeled "Sales," spans around 454 square meters, comparable to Apple's current Rennweg store. A first-floor space labeled "Backstage," likely office use, adds a further 521 square meters. Whether that upper floor will ultimately serve as retail space remains unclear. If both floors are used for sales, the total retail footprint would rank the store among the largest Apple locations in Europe, with Tagesanzeiger reporting an overall area of around 2,000 square meters. Estimated rent is around 1,500 Swiss francs per square meter per month.

The building at Lintheschergasse 7 is a listed municipal heritage structure, which limits how extensively the exterior can be altered. The permit describes a facade renovation covering the ground and first floors, including new metal panels in "Aluminium Champagne" between the shop windows and updated window frames, while the concrete pillar cladding matching the upper floors will remain unchanged. The works also involve a slight expansion of the ground-floor entrance area, eliminating a recessed corner entry in favor of a flush facade, adding 11 square meters and bringing the total building footprint to 965 square meters. A basement level will likely provide storage.

The construction timeline runs from early November 2026 to early May 2027, suggesting an opening sometime in summer 2027. Apple opened its first Zurich store on Bahnhofstrasse in May 2009, then relocated to Rennweg 43 in 2019. The planned Lintheschergasse location would mark the company's third Zurich address.

Separately, Apple is also planning a new Geneva store, with building permits there showing a dramatic glass facade design. Apple currently operates four retail stores in Switzerland, two in Zurich and one each in Basel and Geneva.