Hong Kong ́s Causeway Bay remains top of the world’s most expensive retail strips, with rents rising to US$2745 per square feet per annum, 2.3 per cent higher than last year.
New York ́s Upper 5th Avenue, with annual retail rents at $2250/sqft, retained the number two position on Cushman & Wakefield ́s latest rankings. Singapore’s Orchard Road does not appear in the top10, due to its retail stores considered to be almost exclusively inside shopping centres rather than defined as ‘high-street’.
Completing the top five are New Bond Street in London, followed by Avenue des Champs-Elysees in Paris and Milan’s Via Montenapoleone.
The top 10 worldwide shopping streets by rent (in US$/sqft/year):
1 Causeway Bay (Hong Kong) – $2745
2 Upper 5th Avenue (New York) – $2250
3 New Bond Street (London) – $1714
4 Avenue des Champs-Elysees (Paris) – $1478
5 Via Montenapoleone (Milan) – $1447
6 Ginza (Tokyo) – $1251
7 Pitt Street Mall (Sydney) – $1076
8 Bahnhofstrasse (Zurich) – $886
9 Myeongdong (Seoul) – $862
10 Kohlmarkt (Vienna) – $513
Greater China represents seven of the top 20 Asian locations in the world’s most expensive retail strips, including Hong Kong (1st), Beijing (6th), Shanghai (8th), Shenzhen (11th), Guangzhou (13th), Taipei (15th) and Nanjing (20th).
Major cities in China continue to see a significant amount of new retail developments, with activities being driven by both domestic and international retailers, with the latter continuing to pursue a strategy of opening in multiple locations.
In Hong Kong, increasing pressure on rents continue as a result of growing local political unrest and the ongoing US-China trade tensions.
Bonifacio High Street in Taguig, Greater Manila, in the Philippines recorded the biggest rental decline in Asia Pacific, posting 28.6-per-cent decrease.
In Australia, rents in some locations have fallen, particularly in CBD strip retail areas. In contrast, rents on some of the higher footfall pitches have increased, including Sydney’s George Street.
In the Americas, recent rental trends have varied by location, with high-street rents in some areas in Canada and the US remain under pressure.
Retail rents in around 70 per cent of the locations in Europe have generally stabilised despite the increasing polarisation.
“In terms of rental performance, this year’s results are encouraging and demonstrate the resilience of the premier retail locations,” says Darren Yates, head of EMEA retail research at Cushman & Wakefield.
“Rents on the world’s most expensive retail strips have been fairly stable and there is greater clarity on where retail is heading. However, there is a downward pressure on rents in many weaker locations, particularly in the more mature markets of Europe and North America. In Asia Pacific, retail has generally performed well across a very diverse group of markets.”
