MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fifth Avenue, world's most expensive shopping street

New York's Fifth Avenue and Causeway Bay in Hong Kong retained top positions as the world's most expensive shopping streets in the world, according to Main Streets Across the World 2006, an annual report by Cushman & Wakefield, one of the world's leading real estate services firm.

An average 1,000 sq ft or 93 sq m unit on Fifth Avenue, at its most expensive stretch near the junction with 57th Street, now costs around 1.35 million US dollars a year. This works out at an average 11.364 US dollars per square meter and in Hong Kong's Causeway bay the average sq meter price is 9.544 US dollars.

"The world's top brands are jostling for position in this prime stretch of retail. This is not just about sales at the till, but about the brand value of retail real estate. In a world of advertising 'clutter', we see companies increasingly leveraging their brands through real estate and Manhattan's Fifth Avenue is a prime example of this trend", said Gene Spiegelman, Executive Director of Cushman & Wakefield, NY.

The trend-setting Abercrombie & Fitch flagship at New York's 56th Street and Nokia's flagship on East 57th Street, which follows Apple Computer's success at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, as consumers continue to pursue advances in technology and communication, are among this year's most high-profile openings on Fifth Avenue.

"Shopping is a global activity ? from the main streets of Buenos Aires, to New York, Paris and New Delhi. Worldwide, the sector has seen a vibrant year, with new store openings, new formats, retailers entering new markets, in particular the emerging markets, and existing schemes being refurbished in more developed markets to cater for evolving consumer and occupier demand" said John Strachan, Cushman & Wakefield's Global Head of Retail

Behind Hong Kong the world ranking has Paris, Avenue des Champs Elysées; London, New Bond Street; Tokyo's Ginza and Ireland's Grafton Street. However the biggest rise is in New Delhi, India, with the most expensive location being Khan Market, having gone up 17 places to now be in 24th place.

Sanjay Dutt, Executive Director for Transaction Services, Cushman & Wakefield in India, says: "The 'organised' retail sector in India is forecast to grow by around 40/45% on an annual basis over the next five years. Currently it has a mere 2 -3% share of the total market, but this is foreseen to grow to up to 12-14% by the end of this decade."

India's retail growth story has been spurred by the country's rapid economic growth and by increasing levels of disposable income, together with higher consumer awareness towards the Western shopping environment and entertainment trends.

Other significant risers in the ranking are the Belgian capital Brussels (Rue Neuve), up five places to 23rd, and the Romanian capital Bucharest (Bulevardul Magheru), up six places to 30th, with activity boosted with Romania on track to join the European Union in 2007.

On a regional basis, Asia Pacific has seen the highest rental increases in local currency terms; rents are up 20% in the year to June 2006. India's retail locations have all seen big rental increases, and, adds Sebastian Skiff, Cushman & Wakefield's Head of Retail in Asia Pacific: "In China, the government has recently approved a significant number of applications by foreign retailers, unlocking the doors for a flood of new retailers entering what is one of the world's most dynamic emerging markets."

Worldwide, rents rose or were stable in 97% of locations monitored, falling in only 3%. Looking ahead, Darren Yates, Associate, European Research, Cushman & Wakefield, and the report's author, says "the demand for modern retail property will continue to grow worldwide, in particular with the opening up of large and increasingly wealthy consumer markets such as India, China, Brazil and Russia, where the demand for consumer goods is growing rapidly together with the need for top-class retailers and high-quality retail facilities."