New Bond Street in London is the most expensive shopping street in Europe, a new report has found.
The city-centre location in the UK capital is the priciest place in the EU to establish a retail store, according to Cushman and Wakefield.
Annual rents at the thoroughfare have risen 2.3% in the past 12 months, to $1,714 per psf/yr (€16,222 psq m/yr), it found.
The Avenue des Champs Elysées in Paris, France, is the second most expensive street in Europe, with rents at ($1,478 psf/yr / €13,992 psq m/yr). The top three is rounded off by Via Montenapoleone in Milan, Italy, at ($1,447 psf/yr / €13,700 psq m/yr).
The figures come from Cushroom’s new global ranking, ‘Main Streets Across the World’. The European streets are not the costliest locations on earth for a retail business. Top of the global table this year is Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, at $2,745 per sq ft/ year (€25,965 per sq m/yr). Upper 5th Avenue in New York, USA, is in second place at $2,250 psf/yr (€21,295 psq m/yr),
Five of the top 10 global streets were in Europe, with four in Asia and just one in the US. Behind London, Paris and Milan in Europe is Zurich’s Bahnhofstrasse at $866 psf/yr (€8,195 psq m/yr) and Vienna’s Kohlmarkt at $513 psf/yr (€4,860 psq m/yr) completing the top five.
Dublin’s Grafton Street comes in at number seven of the top 10 European streets at $401 psf/yr (€3,794 psq m/yr). Among the top 10, Ermou in Athens saw the biggest rental rise of 14% to reach $361 psf/yr (€3,420 psq m/yr).
Overall, rents in around 70% of locations in Europe were stable or up on last year. Polarisation is evident, however, between the more established markets of North Western Europe and Southern, central and eastern Europe, where modern supply is lower and online sales have yet to really accelerate.
Report author Darren Yates, head of EMEA retail research at Cushman & Wakefield, said: 'In terms of rental performance, this year’s results are encouraging and demonstrate the resilience of the premier retail locations. Rents on the world’s top retail streets have been fairly stable and there is greater clarity on where retail is heading.
'However, there is downward pressure on rents in many weaker locations, particularly in the more mature markets of Europe and North America. Online sales continue to increase around the world, but while much of the narrative is focused on the challenges the internet poses for traditional bricks and mortar, the relationship between the two is more complex.'
Boris van Haare Heijmeijer, head of EMEA retail at Cushman & Wakefield, said: 'Even at the top end of the luxury market, retailers are having to work harder than ever to increase or maintain customer footfall. This means diversifying their offer away from just pure sales or transactions.
'Customers want a destination or attraction as part of their brand experience and that means adding other services or partners such as food and drink or leisure activities. We expect this type of brand extension to continue as retailers seek to maintain the attention of their customers and to stay relevant.'
