New York retains its title as the world's most expensive shopping destination in this year's edition of Main Streets Across the World, the annual publication by global real estate consultant, Cushman & Wakefield.
An average 1,000 ft²/93 m² unit on at Fifth Avenue's most expensive stretch, along the golden corridor between the junctions with 49th and 59th Street, now costs around US$1.5 mln a year, up 11% on last year.
Main Streets Across the World (MSATW) is this year launched at MAPIC, the international market for retail real estate taking place in Cannes, France, on 14-16 November. The report tracks retail rents in the world's top 231 shopping locations across 44 countries. The global league table is drawn up by taking the most expensive location in each of the countries monitored.
John Strachan, Cushman & Wakefield's Global Head of Retail, comments: "We are seeing the emergence of a line-up of global shopping destinations, whether Fifth Avenue in New York, Causeway Bay in Hong Kong or Avenue Champs-Elysées in Paris, where retailers are using flagship stores in prestige locations to leverage the value of their brands. These locations are not just attracting local shoppers, but shoppers from around the world, whose very reason to travel is quite often to shop, while the driving force in many of the Asia Pacific locations is also the emergence of a middle class with money in their pockets."
Regarding New York's Fifth Avenue, Gene Spiegelman, Executive Director of Cushman & Wakefield in New York, says: "Fifth Avenue has maintained its dominant position as the world-class destination for global brands looking to establish a retail presence. Occupiers are willing to pay record-setting rents to secure retail positions on the stretch of Fifth Avenue from 49th Street to 59th Street. Retail rents for ground floor space on Fifth Avenue have doubled in the past five years, from US$750 to US$1,500 per ft², culminating with Gucci's lease of more than 40,000 ft² at 725 Fifth Avenue at the end of 2006."
The world's most expensive shopping streets
(rank 2007 (rank 2006), location, rent €/m²/year)
1 (1) Fifth Avenue, New York (US): 11,983
2 (2) Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (Hong Kong): 9,688
3 (3) Avenue des Champs Elysées, Paris (France): 7,364
4 (4) New Bond Street, London (UK): 6,498
5 (5) Ginza, Tokyo (Japan): 5,459
6 (6) Grafton Street, Dublin (Ireland): 5,340
7 (7) Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich (Switzerland): 3,926
8 (8) Pitt Street Mall, Sydney (Australia): 3,905
9 (10) Ermou, Athens (Greece): 3,600
10 (9) Gangnam Station, Seoul (South Korea): 3,441
11 (=10) Kaufingerstraße, Munich (Germany): 3,120
12 (=14) Via Montenapoleone, Milan / Via Condotti, Rome (Italy): 3,000
13 (12) Preciados, Madrid (Spain): 2,880
14 (13) Orchard Road, Singapore (Singapore): 2,597
15 (17) Kärntnerstraße, Vienna (Austria): 2,400
16 (24) Khan Market, New Delhi (India): 2,236
17 (16) Strøget, Copenhagen (Denmark): 2,227
18 (15) Tverskaya, Moscow (Russia): 2,226
19 (20) Wanfujing, Beijing (China): 2,137
20 (18) Na Prikope/Wenceslas Square, Prague (Czech Republic): 2,040
=21 (21) Kalverstraat, Amsterdam (Netherlands): 2,000
=21 (19) Karl Johan Gate, Oslo (Norway): 2,000
23 (27) Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia): 1,663
24 (26) Iguatemi Shopping, São Paulo (Brazil): 1,596
25 (22) Bloor Street, Toronto / Robson Street, Vancouver (Canada): 1,584
26 (23) Rue Neuve, Brussels (Belgium): 1,580
27 (25) City center, Helsinki (Finland): 1,500
28 (=28) Váci utca, Budapest (Hungary): 1,440
29 (32) Lambton Quay, Wellington (New Zealand): 1,430
30 (30) Bulevardul Magheru, Bucharest (Romania): 1,380
31 (31) Biblioteksgatan, Stockholm (Sweden): 1,302
32 (=28) Vitosha Blvd, Sofia (Bulgaria): 1,200
33 (33) Abdi Ipekci (European side), Istanbul (Turkey): 1,176
34 (34) ZhongXiao E. Road, Taipei (Taiwan): 1,106
35 (36) Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv (Israel): 1,069
36 (=38) ul. Chmielna/ul. Nowy Swiat , Warsaw (Poland): 960
37 (n/a) ABC Centre Ac
