Fifth Avenue in New York is the most expensive retail location worldwide, according to new research from Savills, which has analyzed rental prices in 21 international luxury shopping destinations. Annual rents on Fifth Avenue reached €26,000 per m2, or 10.8sq ft, in the fourth quarter of 2024. The second most expensive location was Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui, with rents of €17,132 despite downward pressure on prime headline rents in the area. Bond Street with €15,333 in London has the highest indicative prime rent in Europe, slightly higher than Milan’s Via Montenapoleone €15,000 per m2 annual rent. The report said that 75% of markets surveyed reported annual increases, or a hold, in prime headline rents year-on-year, while New York and London reported their strongest growth since the onset of the pandemic.Rents across New York’s Madison and Fifth Avenues surged 24%, although Fifth Avenue has yet to recover fully to 2019 levels. In 2024, London’s Bond Street reported a 20% uplift in prime headline rents. China was the major driver of growth in 2024, with the region accounting for 40% of all new openings globally, down from a 41% global share in 2023. Beyond China, the biggest growth region, in terms of store count, was Asia-Pacific, which accounted for 24% of all new openings. Japan remained the biggest market for new openings in the region, due to the strength of domestic and visitor spend, particularly that coming from China. The current year will be a slower one in terms of store openings, due chiefly to tepid demand in China, especially from aspirational luxury consumers.
