New study conducted by CBRE revealed London as the World’s second most sought after city for retailers looking to expand their businesses in 2017, up from 6th place in its 2016 rank, while Hong Kong remained its position as the most important global retail city.
Some of the major retail businesses that opened stores over the past 12 months in the city of London include Typo, New Balance, IKKS and Dyson.
In total, London attracted 65 new retail entrants, closely behind Hong Kong, which attracted 87 new retail businesses.
Furthermore, the city’s prime shopping centres including Westfield Stratford attracting a significant number of new retailers has contributed to the city become such a desirable destination in the retail sector.
The report also shows that the majority of those new retailers opened in London in the past year are from the USA as they plan to launch in mainland Europe at a later stage.
Other top 10 cities in 2017 rank included Dubai, Doha, Tokyo, Singapore, Paris, Moscow, Toronto and Vienna. With Paris jumping from 20th place to seventh this year, this makes it the fastest growing city in Europe and globally.
David Close, Seniot director cross-border retail EMEA of CBRE, said:
“Retailers are increasingly looking at the traditional strongholds of London, Paris and Hong Kong and stores in the most prominent cities remain a strategic opportunity to attract consumers, build brand loyalty and generate sales off-line and on”.
