Fifth Avenue Reigns As Priciest Shopping Stretch

The combination of a weak dollar and a strong tourism industry has created a healthy retail environment in New York, and landlords have responded by making a 10-block stretch along Fifth Avenue the priciest shopping blocks in the world, according to a new report by Cushman & Wakefield. The Big Apple has held this title since the brokerage firm began publishing its report "Main Streets Around the World" in 2000.

At $1,500 a square foot, the likes of Bergdorf Goodman, Versace, and Gucci top the list as the most expensive retail stores. Rents on this strip, on Fifth Ave. between 49th and 59th streets, have doubled since 2000, when it cost just $700 a square foot.

"For many of these stores, Fifth Avenue itself is a statement for their branding purposes," the director of retail brokerage at Cushman & Wakefield, Eugene Spiegelman, said. Last year, for example, Gucci leased 40,000 square feet of space at 725 Fifth Avenue, where it pays about $9 million a year for just the ground floor, Mr. Spiegelman said.

The weak dollar is also helping. "If you are coming from the U.K., everything is a half-price sale," Mr. Spiegelman said. "It's a very compelling reason for shoppers to come in and spend money."

Hong Kong's Causeway Bay and Paris' Avenue des Champs Elysées held their positions as second and third most expensive streets for the second straight year. Their average rental rates were $1,213 and $922, respectively.

The biggest rise in rank in the international survey was the Khan Market in New Delhi, India. The market jumped to the 16th most expensive retail area in 2007, from 24th in 2006. The average rent for the market was $280 a square foot.