For the longest time, New York’s Upper Fifth Avenue held the title of ‘the most expensive street in the world’ but it was recently dethroned by Montenapoleone, an upscale shopping street in Milan, Italy.
Every year, American firm Cushman & Wakefield publishes a global index that ranks the world’s most expensive shopping areas by the rent prices they command. Fifth Avenue has been ranking first out of 138 leading retail destinations around the world for many years, but last year, it was surpassed by Montenapoleone, the most popular luxury shopping street in Milan. Not only is this short street a magnet for tourists interested only in window shopping, but it also attracts some of the wealthiest people around the globe, many of who spend at least 2,500 euros ($2,600) per purchase, the highest average receipt in the world.
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Luxury tourism in Milan has been booming in recent years, thanks to several posh events, such as two fashion weeks and Design Week, and the Italian city has also been able to lure in wealthy permanent residents with the help of generous tax incentives. Luxury brands followed suit, competing fiercely over the best locations for physical stores. And there’s no better place to be in Milan than Montenapoleone Street.
While rents on Upper Fifth Avenue have remained stable over the last couple of years, on Montenapoleone they have increased by 30% and experts expect them to go even higher. Businesses are expected to pay an average of 20,000 euros per square meter ($2,047 per square foot) on Montenapoleone, compared with 19,537 euros per square meter ($2,000 per square foot). It’s a fortune, but juggernauts like Fendi, Prada, or Versace seem to think it’s a worthy investment.
The biggest brand on Montenapoleone reportedly make between 50 and 100 million euros per year from their physical shops there, which doesn’t account for the marketing exposure to tens of millions of people every year.
An important advantage of Via Montenapoleone over other famous shopping streets around the world is its relatively small size. It’s less than a quarter mile long, which means that retail space is very limited and therefore very expensive. Buildings on the world’s priciest street can sell for billions of dollars, and only the biggest fashion brands can afford the rent.
“Not everything can fit, which is a benefit’ since the limited space makes the street even more exclusive and dynamic,” Guglielmo Miani, president of the Montenapoleone District Association, told CBS News.
