135 Louis Vuitton Speedy 30s needed to cover the world's highest rent
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London - New York City has long been seen as one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. Therefore it should come as little surprise that Manhattan's Upper 5th Avenue continue to lead the way as the world's most expensive shopping street. The street has managed to hold onto its reigning title for the third year running in the 28th edition of Cushman & Wakefield's global flagship report Main Streets Across the World, commanding an average annual rent of 3,000 dollars per square foot (2,408 pounds). However, unlike last year's results, which saw nearly all of the world’s shopping streets increase in rent, this year saw nearly every high street across the globe decrease its rent, reflecting the turbulent times faced by retailers. For example, rents on Upper 5th Avenue commanded 3,500 dollars (2,303 pounds) per square foot in 2015 - 500 dollars more than this year - which is equal to a 14 percent decrease.
This marks the first time that Manhattan retail rents have declined in the post recession era, as retailers on the high street are faced with financial instability and uncertainty. But what does this decrease in rent really mean for retailers located on Upper 5th Avenue? Last year FashionUnited calculated that Tiffany's, whose flagship store at 727 5th Avenue is often cited as a New York landmark, had to sell at least 78 diamond engagement rings (with an average price of 5,630 dollars) each day to cover its rent. However, thanks to the decrease in rent, Tiffany's would only need to sell 50 diamond engagement rings every day to cover its flagship store's rent for 2016.
With the majority of the world’s high street rental prices decreasing, FashionUnited calculated what some of the largest flagship stores on the top ten most expensive streets in the world would have to sell each day in order to cover their annual rent - and the results may just surprise you.
1. Upper 5th Avenue, Manhattan - Home to Tiffany's
Tiffany's iconic flagship store spans a total of 45,500 square feet (4,227 square meters). Average rent on the high street has dropped to 3,000 dollars (2,408 pounds) per square foot per year, which means the jeweller pays a 136 million dollars (109 million pounds) in rent annually. One of Tiffany's most popular collections at the moment is its T collection, which includes diamond rings that retail for average of 2,200 dollars (1,975 pounds). This means that in order to cover its annual rent, Tiffany's need to sell at least 170 T rings each day.
2. Causeway Bay, Hong Kong - Home to Adidas
Although Causeway Bay is home to a number of luxury brands, Adidas owns 3,000 square foot (279 square meter) flagship here and pays on average 2,878 dollars (2,311 pounds) per square foot each year. This sees the German sportswear retailer shelling out a total of 8,6 million dollars (6,9 million pounds) in rent annually or 23,654 dollars (18,997 pounds) each day. Therefore in order to pay its rent, Adidas has to sell at least 296 pairs of its famed Gazelle sneakers, which retail for 80 dollars (74,95 pounds) each day.
3. Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong - Home to Louis Vuitton
Luxury brand Louis Vuitton operates a 18,800 square foot (1,749 square meter) store on this high-end shopping street, paying on average 2,714 dollars (2,178 pounds) per square foot per year which is equal to 51 million dollars (39 million pounds) in annual rent. One of the fashion house's most famed handbags remains the Speedy 30, which retails in Hong Kong for 8,050 Hong Kong dollars (1, 038 dollars, 834 pounds) according to Louis Vuitton’s HK online store. This means that Louis Vuitton has to sell at least 135 Speedys 30 each day to cover its annual rent.
4. Times Square, New York City - Home to Levi's
Denim label Levi's owns a 6,500 square foot (604 square meter) store here. With the average annual rent coming to 2,000 dollars per square foot, this means that Levi's pays 13 million dollars (10,4 million pounds) in rent each year. The denim brand bestselling jeans continue to be its 501 jeans, which retail on average for 59,90 dollars (75 pounds). Therefore in order to ensure its rent is covered, Levi's has to sell at least 595 pairs of its 501 Original jeans.
5. Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris - Home to Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton owns a 19,375 square foot (1,800 square meter) flagship store here for which it pays in average 1,368 dollars (1,303 pounds) per square foot annually. According to our calculations, this means that Louis Vuitton pays a total of 26 million dollars (20,5 million pounds) in rent per year. At the moment a Speedy 30 Louis Vuitton handbag retails for 970 dollars in Paris (695 pounds), therefore in order to ensure Louis Vuitton can cover its store rent on Avenue des Champs-Élysées, the luxury fashion house has to sell at least 86 Speedy handbags each day.
6. Madison Avenue, New York City - Home to Moncler
Luxury outdoor brand Moncler recently opened its debut flagship store on Madison Avenue, which spans 6,500 square feet (604 square meters). With the average annual rent coming in at 1,300 dollars per square foot (1,043 pounds), this means that Moncler is set to pay 8,45 million dollars in rent annually. In order to cover its rent, Moncler will have to sell at least 16 Vallier down coats, which retail for 1,4485 dollars (925 pounds).
7. New Bond Street, London - Home to Chanel
French fashion house Chanel runs a 12,600 square foot (1,170 square meter) store and pays on average 1,283 dollars (1,030 pounds) in annual rent per square foot. In total Chanel would pay an average annual rent of 16,1 million dollars (12,9 million pounds), which means the luxury brand would have to sell at least 10 of its iconic Reissue 225 handbag, retailing at 4,900 dollars (3,990 pounds) per piece, to cover its rent.
8. Ginza, Tokyo - Home to Chanel
Unsurprisingly Chanel has stores in most of the world's key locations, including Tokyo. Chanel runs a 14,000 square foot (1,300 square meter) store here, and with the average annual rent coming in at 1,249 dollars (1,002 pounds) per square foot, this means that Chanel pays a total of 17,4 million dollars for its Ginza store in annual rent. Therefore in order to pay for its rent, Chanel needs to sell at least 11 Reissue 225 handbags every day.
9. Via Monte Napoleone, Milan - Home to Moncler
Moncler also holds a flagship store in the heart of Milan, which spans 3,800 square feet (350 square meters). In order to operate a store here, Moncler pays an average annual rent of 1,239 dollars (994 pounds) per square foot, totalling 4,7 million dollars (3,6 million pounds) per year. This means Moncler has to sell at least 11 Vallier down coats every day to cover its rent.
10. Via dei Condotti, Rome - Home to Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton operates another store in Rome, on the Via dei Condotti. Average annual rent per square foot comes in at 1,135 dollars (911 pounds) per year, so with LV store spanning 12,900 square feet (1,200 square meters) the luxury fashion house has to pay 14,6 million dollars in annual rent. This comes down to 40,180 dollars (31,207 pounds) per day, so in order to cover its rent, Louis Vuitton has to sell at least 48 Speedy's per day, at 970 dollars in Paris (695 pounds per bag .
FashionUnited’s list of the top ten most expensive shopping streets in the world conveys the reality of setting up shop on these wanted locations. And although high streets rents decreased across the world this year, there were a few exceptions to the rule. For example, rent on Ginza, in Tokyo increased to 1,249 dollars per square foot, securing the shopping street a spot in the top ten for the first time. However, this is turn also meant that other shopping streets were knocked out of FashionUnited's top ten, such as Central in Hong Kong and Lower 5th Avenue in New York. Surprisingly Paris’s Avenue des Champs-Élysées, managed to secure a spot in the top 10 once more, in spite of a decline in tourist and spend following the terrorist attacks of last year.
Homepage photo: NYC 5th Avenue, via Wikicommons, by André D Conrad
Photo 1: Tiffany's 5th Avenue store, via Wikicommons
Photo 2: Adidas Hong Kong store, via Flickr: Ivan Walsh
Photo 3: Louis Vuitton Hong Kong store, via Wikicommons
Photo 4: Levi's Times Square store, via Facebook
Photo 5: Louis Vuitton Champs-Elysee, via Wikicommons
Photo 6: Moncler Vallier, via own website
Photo 7: Chanel New Bond Street store, by Clintmann
Photo 8: Chanel store, via Facebook
Photo 9: Via Monte Napoleone, via Wikimedia, by MaryG90
Photo 10: Louis Vuitton Rome, via Wikimedia, by Nicholas Gemini