HongKong tops NY as most expensive retail location.

Hong Kong is the world's most expensive retail location according to a survey by international property consultants Healey & Baker, a member of Cushman & Wakefield Worldwide. At $753.50 per square foot per year, the cost of renting a shop in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay is almost twice its nearest rival - Fifth Avenue, New York.

Of the top 31 retail locations throughout the world, Hong Kong easily ranks as the most expensive, with New York second, Moscow third and Paris fourth. London's Brompton Road ranks 11th behind Singapore, Vienna, Munich, Zurich, Athens and Tokyo. St. Helier (Jersey) and Durban bring up the rear.

These findings are contained within Healey & Baker's Main Streets 1996 report, which provides a comprehensive analysis of the international retailing scene. There are three major changes on the survey findings from 1995. Moscow, at Trade House Gum, has shot up to third spot with an increase in rental value of nearly 30 percent. Tokyo has dropped from 2nd to 10th spot and Hong Kong (although still the most expensive) has seen its top renting street fall in value by almost 40 percent.

The report looks at retail rents, identifies current international retailing trends and highlights the countries "cross border" retailers are targeting. Key findings are:

* Across the globe, retail rents rose in 41 percent of the 168 shopping locations examined in the survey, compared to 42 percent in 1995. Cities in South America have seen the greatest growth, followed by Europe - notably Russia, France, Poland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Rents in the United States have also grown.

* Retailers are increasingly looking to expand outside their domestic markets. Markets which have become particularly popular over the last 10 years are Portugal, Eire and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Over the coming four years the United Kingdom, Portugal, Germany and the Czech Republic are set to attract the most cross border retailers.

* The number of new entrants is only one of the aspects that identifies dynamic retail markets. The expansion plans of international retailers are also very important. Over 70 percent of the overseas retailers operating in Germany, Hungary, Japan and Argentina intend to expand further in the next four years.

* China remains popular with overseas retailing groups despite the many bureaucratic issues encountered. Shanghai has emerged as the hotspot of retail activity, with sales figures at around the $10.5 billion mark.

* A number of American retailers have recently made plans to enter the European market, most using London as their starting off point. These include big fashion names like Tommy Hilfiger as well as others such as Eddie Bauer, General Nutrition and Nine West.

* German, French and British retailers have been the most active in entering former Eastern bloc countries over the last 20 years. They were the first to arrive in these countries and have consistently sought to expand their operations there since.

John Travers, International Managing Partner at Healey & Baker, said "To New York, London, Paris and Munich add Hong Kong and Moscow. This research shows that Europe still figures strongly in the global retail economy; 14 of the top 20 international retail locations in rental terms are in Europe. It is Europe, especially Eastern Europe, where many retailers expect to see growth over the next five to 10 years. Prague already ranks as the 12th most expensive city. Retailers from all over the globe are taking a look at the newly liberated European consumer."