New York’s Fifth Avenue Crowned World’s Most Expensive Shopping Street. What about Bucharest?

0

Get real time updates directly on you device, subscribe now.

New York’s Fifth Avenue has reclaimed its position as the world’s most expensive retail street, with average rents of 1.756 euro/sq. m/month according to a new global ranking from real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.

Pegging the Hong Kong dollar to the U.S. dollar has helped Hong Kong maintain a high-ranking position in 2022 in second, with Tsim Sha Tsui at €1,261/sq. m/month displacing Causeway Bay as the territory’s representative in the rankings.

In third, Milan’s Via Montenapoleone at €1,212 sq. m/month is Europe’s most expensive shopping street for the first time, climbing above New Bond Street in London and Avenue des Champs Élysées in Paris.

Cushman & Wakefield’s flagship ‘Main Streets Across the World’ report, first launched in 1988, tracks the top retail streets across 92 cities and ranks the most expensive by prime rental value using Cushman & Wakefield’s proprietary data. An annual report until 2019, this is the first since then – allowing insight into comparative performance pre- and post-pandemic.

Robert Travers, Head of EMEA Retail at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “The industry has been through one of the biggest stress tests imaginable over the past few years, but best in class retail real estate has remained robust. While we now face new economic challenges, the conversation has shifted from pessimism to retail´s omnichannel evolution”.

With a rent level on Calea Victoriei, the main retail street of the city, of €53/sq. m/month, Bucharest remains in the top 50 cities analyzed worldwide and in position 46 out of 53 in the EMEA ranking, just behind Warsaw. In Prague, Budapest, Zagreb and Belgrade the rents are above the level in Bucharest, a lower value being recorded in Sofia, Bratislava, Vilnius, Riga or Skopje.

Dana Radoveneanu, Head of Retail Agency Cushman & Wakefield Echinox: ”The Cushman & Wakefield global report analyses the high street retail occupied predominantly by luxury brands, a retail segment which managed to quickly recover after the complicated initial stages of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions. This positive trend can also be observed in the results reported by the luxury retailers present in Romania, such as Louis Vuitton or Rolex. Unfortunately, Calea Victoriei, the only Romanian commercial street included in the report, probably has the smallest fashion component in its tenant mix compared with the other analyzed European locations. However, considering that Calea Victoriei has become an increasingly popular destination, especially for its high variety of restaurants, cafes or bars, we believe that we will also a development of the fashion segment in the coming period.”

Rents across global prime retail destinations declined by 13% on average at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic but have subsequently rebounded to just 6% below pre-pandemic levels. Global rental growth over the past year averaged 2% but has varied tremendously.

APAC was the most impacted region during the pandemic period with rents falling 17% on average, mainly due to border closures affecting prime international tourist destinations. In EMEA, rental declines averaged 11%, while the decline in the Americas was just 7%, thanks in part to supportive fiscal policies and domestic migration patterns boosting buying power.

Since the pandemic nadir, global retail market rents have recouped approximately 50% of their losses. Much of that improvement has occurred through 2021 and into early 2022 before global economic headwinds started to negatively impact markets over the past six months.

At the peak of Covid-19, rents in EMEA fell by an average 11% although varied considerably according to the severity of rolling lockdowns. Ireland, the UK, Spain and France experienced significant impacts as rents fell by up to 28% on average. Meanwhile, changes were minimal in parts of Eastern Europe such as Slovakia and Slovenia.

Prime rents have rebounded in the region to just 8% below pre-pandemic levels and at the beginning of 2022 the EU region recorded retail sales volumes 4.1% higher relative to levels when Covid-19 first emerged. However, recovery has and will continue to be challenged by inflation, impacting consumer demand and retailers alike.

Despite the challenging near-term economic outlook, Cushman & Wakefield has witnessed a wave of newcomers entering the market, exploring physical retail. Over the last 18 months, 75% of the retail transactions Cushman & Wakefield represented in EMEA were new leases, highlighting the value retailers place on a physical presence.  

TOP THE MOST EXPENSIVE RETAIL STREETS BY MARKET (source: Cushman & Wakefield)     

Global Ranking

2022

 

Ranking Pre-Covid

Location City Rent
(€/sq m/month)
Pre-covid to present 2022/2021
1 2 Upper 5th Avenue New York 1,756 14% 7%
2 1 Tsim Sha Tsui Hong Kong 1,261 -41% -5%
3 5 Via Montenapoleone Milan 1,212 9% 7%
4 3 New Bond Street London 1,195 -11% -7%
5 4 Avenue des Champs Élysées Paris 922 -18% -4%
6 6 Ginza Tokyo 829 0% 5%
7 8 Bahnhofstrasse Zurich 743 -3% -1%
8 7 Pitt Street Mall Sydney 635 -24% -7%
9 9 Myeongdong Seoul 498 -23% -15%
10 10 West Nanjing Road Shanghai 435 -14% -14%
11 11 Kohlmarkt Vienna 407 4% 0%
12 13 Orchard Road Singapore 355 0% 0%
13 12 Kaufinger/Neuhauser Munich 310 -12% 0%
14 15 Ermou Athens 267 -4% 6%
15 14 Grafton Street Dublin 244 -17% 11%
16 17 Parizska Street Prague 227 0% 9%
17 16 Passeig de Gracia Barcelona 223 -16% 0%
18 19 Bloor Street Toronto 220 -3% 13%
19 18 P.C. Hooftstraat Amsterdam 214 -5% 0%
20 21 Suria KLCC Kuala Lumpur 195 8% 12%
21 20 Khan Market New Delhi 192 4% 7%
22 27 Nedre Slottsgate Oslo 173 10% 16%
23 22 Biblioteksgatan Stockholm 160 -8% -1%
24 23 Grande Rue Luxembourg 141 -9% 4%
25 25 Stroget (inclusiv

Vimmelskaftet)

Copenhagen 138 -5% 1%
26 24 Meir Antwerp 129 -14% 3%
27 29 Chiado Lisbon 119 -6% 0%
28 28 City Centre Helsinki 114 -13% -4%
29 26 Vaci utca Budapest 107 -27% -8%
30 30 Centre – Istiklal Street Istanbul 98 -26% 11%
31 31 Kneza Mihaila Belgrade 82 -6% 0%
32 34 Masaryk Mexico 79 -19% 6%
33 35 Prime Jakarta 75 0% 0%
34 33 Ilica Street Zagreb 73 -6% 0%
35 36 Čopova Ljubljana 58 0% 0%
36 32 Nowy Swiat Warsaw 54 -33% -3%
37 38 Calea Victoriei Bucharest 53 0% 10%
38 40 Oscar Freire Jardins Sao Paulo 52 39% 9%
39 37 Vitosha Blvd Sofia 50 -10% 0%
40 39 Obchodna ulica Bratislava 44 0% 0%
41 41 Bonifacio High Street Manila 40 0% 0%
42 46 Anexartisisas Ave Limassol 36 12% 6%
43 43 Gedimino Ave./

Pilies St.

Didzioji St.

Vilnius 35 -9% 1%
44 42 Kalku St./Valnu St./

Audeju St./Terbatas

St./Kr.Barona St.

Riga 35 -10% 0%
45 45 Viru Street Tallinn 30 -9% 0%
46 47 Makedonija Street Skopje 27 0% 0%
47 44 Calle peatonal Florida.

 

Buenos Aires 18 -53% -18%

 

DONATE: Support our work
In an ever changing and challenging world, the media is constantly struggling to resist. Romania Journal makes no exception. We’ve been informing you, our readers, for almost 10 years, as extensively as we can, but, as we reject any state funding and private advertising is scarce, we need your help to keep on going.
So, if you enjoy our work, you can contribute to endorse the Romania Journal team. Any amount is welcome, no strings attached. Choose to join with one of the following options:
Donate with PayPal
Donate by Bank Wire
Black Zonure SRL
UniCredit Bank. Swift: BACXROBU
RON: RO84 BACX 0000 0022 3589 1000
EURO: RO57 BACX 0000 0022 3589 1001
USD: RO30 BACX 0000 0022 3589 1002

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.