The cost of high-street style
In its annual Main Streets Across the World report, Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker (CWHB) listed the two as the most expensive shopping streets in Poland and placed them in joint 37th place in a ranking of the world's priciest retail locations, up one place from last year.
Most of the other regional players showed a slight increase or decrease in their positions. Na Prikope and Wenceslas Square moved down one place to joint 17th place and Vacia utca in Budapest was also down one spot to 30th. Bulevardul Magheru continued the trend and was down one place to finish just ahead of Warsaw in 36th place, while Nowy wiat had to share its billing with Downtown Bratislava in Slovakia, which last year was not classified.
Paved with gold
In Europe, the old shop hands continued to dominate. Moscow dropped out of the top 10, with Tverskaya moving from seventh last year to 11th place this year. Avenue des Champs Elysees in Paris is still the most expensive shopping street in Europe, in third place in the world, closely followed by New Bond Street in London in fourth, and Grafton Street in Dublin in sixth. The world's most expensive street is still 5th Avenue in New York, followed by Causeway Bay in Hong Kong.
According to CWHB, the cost of retail space in the world's top shopping destinations has gone up by an average of eight percent over the past year. Only 18 locations out of the 237 in the report had a fall in rents in local currency terms, with the remainder either seeing rents stable or growing.
The biggest rental rises in Europe have been in Kobmagergade in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, where rents have gone up 40 percent in local currency terms. Outside the Nordic region, rents in Budapest's main Vaci utca high street, Moscow's Novy Arbat Street and London's New Bond Street have all gone up 25 percent when measured in local currency.
Outside the capitals
"Among the 'big three' Central European markets, Hungary recorded the most robust growth of 9.9 percent with rents in the Czech Republic up by a less significant but still respectable 4.8 percent," says the report. "Polish rents meanwhile remained unchanged over the year, as shopping center competition continued between recently opened and older schemes. Retail interest in all three countries is focusing increasingly on smaller urban areas away from their respective capital cities.
"The [Polish] market has remained stable and is improving with the supply of good quality high street space generally insufficient to meet demand. Rents have fallen to more sustainable levels in secondary locations. Interest from domestic and international retailers remains firm."
Warsaw still has Poland's most expensive retail rents. One sqm on ul. Nowy wiat or Chmielna will cost EUR 60 (zł.236) per month according to the report. Ul. Florianska in Kraków is hot on its heels, however, with retail rent clocking in at EUR 55 (zł.216) per sqm per month. Ul. Polwiejska in Poznań is next with EUR 40 (zł.157) per sqm per month and a sqm on ul. 3 Maja in Katowice will cost you EUR 35 (zł.137) per month.
