Hong Kong ousts New York for most expensive retail location
In a new report, the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield says that Fifth Avenue has relinquished the title to Hong Kong's Causeway Bay. The report surveys 326 retail destinations in prime locations in 62 countries. The most expensive retail destinations are determined based on the cost of rent for retailers. Annual rent in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay rose 35 percent last year to $2,630 per square foot, compared with an annual rent of $2,500 per square foot along Fifth Avenue in New York. Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris was the third most expensive shopping location at $1,129 per square foot and Ginza in Tokyo was fourth at $1,057.
Despite a slow global economy, many of the world's luxury shopping destinations have not been impacted. Forty-five percent of the 326 locations surveyed saw their rent increase while only 15 percent saw a decrease, down from 19 percent in 2011.
"There has been the usual jostling for the top positions between Hong Kong and New York but of course the real message here is the unfaltering advance of the top global cities, fuelled by a shortage of supply and the interest of international brands," said John Strachan of Cushman & Wakefield in a statement.
Get more statistics from the survey here.
[h/t Bloomberg]
Photo: Flickr
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