Luxury goods retailers have emerged as the most active and expansive retail sector, responsible for over 23% of new store openings during the past year, according to the new edition of How Global is the Business of Retail? by CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).
Luxury goods retailers have emerged as the most active and expansive retail sector, responsible for over 23% of new store openings during the past year, according to the new edition of How Global is the Business of Retail? by CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).
CBRE's annual survey - now in its third year - mapped the global footprint of 294 of the world’s top retailers across 69 countries, exploring the globalisation of the retail industry at national and city levels and highlighting differences between sectors and regions, thereby identifying trends in the patterns of global retail expansion.
Despite the global economic slowdown, luxury retailers have continued to globalise, with the majority of luxury brands present across all three major global regions. On average, luxury retailers operate in over 25 countries and 50 cities worldwide - giving them the largest global presence of all retail sectors.
Growth in the global footprint of luxury retailers has mainly been geared towards emerging markets. China has been a major target, where the luxury sector is thriving, driven by rapidly increasing wealth and disposable income, along with a strong demand for new luxury Western brands. This is particularly evident in the major cities across China where many of the luxury brands have not been available for long and consumers are looking to display their personal wealth with luxury brand products.
Hong Kong maintained its position as the most popular global destination for luxury retailers, attracting 91% of luxury brands surveyed as part of the CBRE study. Hong Kong was closely followed by London, attracting 87% of luxury retailers, and by Dubai in third place, with 85% of luxury retailers present. In total, Asian cities accounted for eight of the top 15 luxury cities, with Taipei, Beijng, Shanghai and Singapore all featuring in the top 10.