The average rent on Calea Victoriei is EUR55/sqm/month, below the level recorded in Oraga, Budapest, Zagreb and Belgrade, but above rent levels in Sofia, Bratislava, Vilnius, Riga and Skopje.
“The report focuses on headline rents in the best-in-class high street locations across the world which, in many cases, are directly connected to the luxury sector. Calea Victoriei in Bucharest is the only Romanian location included in the report, representing the most expensive retail street on the local market. The availability of spaces suitable for the opening of luxury stores remains extremely limited in this area of Bucharest, but the proximity to Calea Victoriei has become a magnet for premium hotel brands amid the revival of tourism in this post-pandemic context, a positive factor that could influence the need for modern high street retail spaces in the near future,” said Dana Radoveneanu, Head of Retail Agency Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
According to the report, New York’s Fifth Avenue has reclaimed its position as the world’s most expensive retail street, with an average rent of EUR1.700/sqm/month, while Milan’s Via Montenapoleone climbed to the second spot in the global ranking, with EUR1,500/sqm/month, up 20% on the year.
Europe has three of the top five most expensive retail streets globally, with London’s New Bond Street coming in fourth and Avenues des Champs-Élysées in Paris placing fifth respectively, and five of the top 10.
“Vacancy in super-prime retail locations remains tight, leading to competitive tension when rare sites become available which feeds through to rents. Even as concerns over consumers cutting discretionary spending have been affecting the economy, retailers and have been securing or enhancing flagship stores in key markets. “These stores are a critical part of a brand’s retail equation. They are the physical embodiment of the brand, something that is very hard to curate in an online environment. Often this is reinforced with bespoke products only available for purchase in-store as they channel customers into real-world retail experiences,” said Rob Travers, Head of EMEA Retail at Cushman & Wakefield.
As the world continues to emerge from the impacts of the global pandemic, prime retail destinations similarly have continued their rebound, recording mostly positive rental growth over the past year. Rents across global prime retail destinations increased on average by 4.8% in local currency terms over the past year. The strongest growth was recorded in Asia Pacific, which averaged 5.3%, with the Americas at 5.2% and Europe at 4.2%.