Fifth Avenue retail rents on the rise

Retail rents have risen or remained stable on 94 percent of the 236 shopping streets around the world surveyed in Cushman & Wakefield’s annual “Main Streets Across the World” report. Fifth Avenue remains the world’s most expensive shopping street — retailers can now expect to pay average annual rents of $1,850 per square foot, a 27 percent increase from 2007. Ground-level Fifth Avenue rents can go as high as $2,300 per square foot. Having a presence on a street like Fifth Avenue is important for a brand, regardless of how profitable the store is, said John Strachan, Cushman & Wakefield’s global head of retail.