The mythical streets of Europe definitively bury the Covid. According to a study published by Mytraffic and Cushman
On the top step of the podium: the famous Kalverstraat, in Amsterdam. Footfall there increased by 30% between June 2021 and May 2022. Each month, each store sees an average of 726,000 visitors passing through its doors. Next comes Madrid’s Gran Via, whose businesses record 26% more traffic, with 1,923,000 people.
The Champs-Élysées comes in third place, with a 15% increase. A store located on “the most beautiful avenue in the world” sees an average of 1,009,000 visitors pass its door each year. A level that also makes it the second busiest shopping avenue in Europe, just after Amsterdam.
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan and Le Meir in Antwerp are also performing well. Only Berlin’s Kurfürstendamm and Oxford Street continue to lose visitors, with a drop in attendance of 12% and 18% respectively.
The attractiveness of these iconic streets thus seems stronger than ever. The sales people are not mistaken: the demand for commercial space thus exceeds the available supply, and the vacancy is reduced, despite the very high rents which are practiced there – more than 16,000 euros per square meter on the Champs-Élysées .
This does not prevent sports brands from getting there in force, competing with luxury brands: Lululemon opens its second European store on the Champs-Élysées, while Adidas inaugurates a flagship store in Amsterdam. Another interesting fact: luxury brands aren’t backing down. All express a strong demand to open or transform their stores located on these mythical arteries.
This is the case of the Champs-Élysées, which retains its image of a luxury avenue thanks to the shops of the biggest French and international brands that dot it and attract millions of tourists each year. According to the study, it only took about ten days for two takeover offers to target the former 800 m² premises housing the Disney Store after its closure.
Only 7% of commercial spaces are currently vacant there, and this should not last. The approach of the Olympics is having its effect: pop-up stores are very popular, and their prices are soaring. Renting a pop-up store during the Olympics now costs more than long-term commercial rent.