Pitt Street Mall fifth most expensive retail location

Prime retail rents in Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall have increased by 25 percent, making the strip the fifth most expensive shopping location in the world.

Cushman & Wakefield’s ‘Main Streets Across the World’ report, which ranks the most expensive locations in 330 shopping destinations across 65 countries, shows Sydney has climbed three places to number five. This follows several international retailers taking out large spaces in the Pitt Street Mall in last six months.

New York’s Upper Fifth Avenue is the world’s most expensive shopping location, with rents reaching a record US$30 per sqft (US$37,674 per sqm), up 13 per cent on the previous year. New York edged out Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay, last year’s number one, which experienced a 6.8 per cent rental decline in the last year. Paris’ Avenue des Champs Élysées (zero overall growth) and London’s New Bond Street (up 4.2 per cent) rounded out the top five.

Cushman & Wakefield managing director Australia David Woolford said Pitt Street Mall’s inclusion in the top five reinforced Sydney’s status as a global retail centre.

“The influx of some of the world’s most recognisable retail brands has boosted Sydney’s prime retail market and this has spread to the other major retail markets in Melbourne and Brisbane,” Woolford said.

“These international brands have arrived with an interesting strategy based around the establishment of large footprint stores in super prime areas instead of a rollout strategy. Changing consumer behaviours and trends toward online shopping mean these brands can focus on flagship outlets in premium high-traffic areas, and they are willing to pay top dollar to do so.”

According to the report, prime retail rents worldwide increased by 2.4 per cent in the 12 months to September 2014. Subdued economic activity and structural changes in some markets were blamed for causing a slowing in the overall rental growth rate. However, rents were static or rising in 277 of the 330 locations surveyed.

To download the report visit: http://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/research-and-insight/2013/main-streets-across-the-world-2013/

The world’s 10 most expensive retail locations in each country
Rank 2014	Rank 2013	Country	City	Location	€/Sq.M/Year	Us$/Sq. Ft/Year	% Change In Local Measure
1	-*	USA	New York	Upper Fifth Avenue Causeway Bay	29,822	30	13.3
2	1	Hong Kong (China)	Hong Kong	Avenue des Champs	23,307	2735	-6.8
3	3	France	Paris	Élysées	13,255	1556	0.0
4	4	UK	London	New Bond Street	10,361	1216	4.2
5	8	Australia	Sydney	Pitt Street Mall	8658	1016	25.0
6	6	Italy	Milan	Via Monte-napoleone	80	998	13.3
7	5	Japan	Tokyo	Ginza	8120	953	6.9
8	9	South Korea	Seoul	Myeongdong	7942	932	17.6
9	7	Switzerland	Zurich	Bahnhof-strasse	7456	875	1.1
10	12	Russia	Moscow	Stoleshnikov	4749	557	20.0

 

Source: Cushman & Wakefield