For the first time, a European shopping street tops the global ranking of the most expensive retail locations: Milan's Via Montenapoleone has overtaken New York's Upper 5th Avenue and secures first place, with annual prime rents of 20,000 euros per square metre. This is according to the 34th edition of the report ‘Main Streets Across the World’ by Cushman & Wakefield, one of the world's leading property consultancies.
London's New Bond Street also displaced Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui to take 4th place. As in 2023, Paris' Avenue des Champs-Élysées completes the top 5 of the world's most expensive main streets. With Zurich's Bahnhofstrasse (7th place) and Vienna's Kohlmarkt (10th place), two more European cities made it into the top 10. In the underlying country ranking, Germany improved slightly, with Munich's shopping street Kaufinger/Neuhauser Straße moving up to 13th place (2023: 14th).
‘Despite challenging market conditions and the dynamic growth of e-commerce, demand for physical retail space in prime locations remains undiminished,’ says Andreas Siebert, Head of Retail Investment Germany at Cushman & Wakefield. ‘These internationally renowned streets offer brands the opportunity to strengthen their presence and optimise the customer experience. Luxury and mass-market brands are increasingly relying on physical stores as extensions of their brand and showcases for exclusive products.’
Global Results and Changes
IIn this year's global ranking, Via Montenapoleone in Milan takes the top spot with an annual rent of 20,000 euros per square metre, reflecting an 11% growth growth of 11 percent compared to the previous year. New York's Upper 5th Avenue, which previously led the ranking, drops to second place with a stable annual rent of EUR 19,537 per square metre. London's New Bond Street rose to third place with a rental growth of 13%, reaching EUR 17,210 per square metre annually, while Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong slipped to fourth place (EUR 15,697 per square metre). Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris maintained its position at fifth place, as in 2023, with a 10% increase in rent to €12,519 per square metre annually.
Overall, rents increased in 79 of the 138 retail streets surveyed. Notably, locations in the USA saw strong growth. European locations also showed significant growth, particularly in Italy, France and the UK, where demand for luxury spaces continues.
German cities in the European midfield
Only English and French retail locations make it into the top 10 most expensive European shopping streets after Milan's winning Via Montenapoleone. German retail streets rank in the midfield. As in the previous year, Munich's Kaufinger/Neuhauser Strasse holds 24th place, with an annual rent of 3,840 euros/m2. In Berlin (30), Frankfurt (31), Hamburg (32), and Düsseldorf (33), rental prices remain at €3,000 per square metre annually, but these locations have each dropped one place. These moderate declines are attributed to stronger rental growth in other European cities.
‘The stable rent level at top locations in Germany demonstrates the continued attractiveness of German retail locations,’ explains Tina Reuter, Head of Germany at Cushman & Wakefield. ‘Although the German market has not seen significant rent increases, demand for prime retail spaces remains stable.’
The results of this year's report show that global demand for premium retail spaces remains strong. This is particularly true for the luxury segment, which combines physical presence with brand value. German cities continue to position themselves as solid retail destinations in comparison to other European cities, while international competition for prime locations is driving rental growth.
Research Findings and Methodology
The ‘Main Streets Across the World’ report annually compares prime rents in the best shopping streets worldwide. The analysis is based on 138 leading retail locations, many of which are associated with the luxury segment, and incorporates Cushman & Wakefield's proprietary market data. In 2024, 57 percent or 79 of the analysed locations saw rent growth, while 14 percent (19) experienced declines. The region with the strongest rental growth was North America with an increase of 8.5 per cent, followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific with 3.5 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively. In many regions, rents had already surpassed pre-pandemic levels and now, on average, 6.0 percent higher globally.
