• Home
  • News
  • Retail
  • New York’s Upper 5th Avenue named 2nd most expensive shopping street in the world

New York’s Upper 5th Avenue named 2nd most expensive shopping street in the world

By Marjorie van Elven

loading...

Scroll down to read more

Retail

New York’s Upper 5th Avenue came second on the 30th annual list of most expensive retail streets in the world, published by real estate company Cushman & Wakefield. The fancy avenue was dethroned by Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay, which didn’t top the list since 2012. Causeway Bay retailers pay an average of 2671 US dollars per square foot a year in rent -- that’s 421 dollars more than your average Upper 5th Avenue location.

The two famous shopping streets are followed by New Bond Street, in London; Avenue des Champs Elysées, Paris; and Via Montenapoleone, Milan. A total of 65 countries were analyzed in the report.

Top 10 most expensive retail locations by country

Rank 2018 Rank 2017 Location City Country Rent US$/sq ft/year
1 2 Causeway Bay (main street shops) Hong Kong Island Hong Kong * 2,671
2 1 Upper 5th Avenue (49th - 60th Sts) New York USA 2,250
3 3 New Bond Street London United Kingdom 1,744
4 5 Avenue des Champs Elysees Paris France 1,519
5 4 Via Montenapoleone Milan Italy 1,466
6 6 Ginza Tokyo Japan 1,219
7 7 Pitt Street Mall Sydney Australia 964
8 8 Myeongdong Seoul South Korea 908
9 9 Bahnhofstrasse Zurich Switzerland 854
10 10 Kohlmarkt Vienna Austria 515
*Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) within China
(source: Cushman & Wakefield)

According to Cushman & Field, Hong Kong’s retail market has experienced a rebound over the last year, driven mainly by a return of mainland Chinese tourists. Luxury brands are consequently interested in re-entering the market. Since the list was first coined in 1988, the number one spot has always belonged to streets in either Hong Kong or New York, with the exception of Ginza, in Tokyo, which managed to come first four times.

US dominates ranking of most expensive shopping streets in the Americas

In the Americas, all streets in the top 5 are located in the United States. Upper 5th Avenue is followed by Rodeo Drive, Los Angeles, where the average annual rent per square meter is much lower, at 875 US dollars. Union Square, in San Francisco, got the third place, followed by North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, and Lincoln Road, Miami.

Cushman & Field’s report emphasized that the most successful retailers are focusing more on customer service, rather than just offering products, thanks to a transforming retail landscape where major department stores are downsizing. “There is still a healthy future for the sector but we are moving to a ‘beyond retail’ phase driven by societal and technological change, meaning business models will also need to adapt”, commented Justin Taylor, Head of EMEA Retail at Cushman & Field, in a statement.

“As a result, traditional retail is therefore being resized, reinvented and reimagined. This is most evident in the US and the UK, both of which have felt the force of retailer restructuring and shrinking store networks in some sectors, as well as a downward readjustment of rents in some areas. Equally, however, the disruption is also creating opportunities for exciting new operators and formats to emerge”, concluded Taylor.

Photo: Pixabay, courtesy of Cushman & Field

cushman & Field
most expensive shopping streets