Reuters is reporting that Bond Street, London's (if not the entire United Kingdom's) most expensive shopping destination, is becoming a "battlefield for deep-pocketed fashion dynasties" that are increasingly willing to shell out hard cash to guarantee ownership of top sites.
Retailers accounted for more than three-quarters of property deals on Bond Street in 2010, consultancy CBRE said, paying out more than $389 million. CBRE Executive Director Phil Cann told the newswire that the trend would accelerate.
Unlike mid-market retailers, luxury brands have bounced back strongly from the 2008 downturn on the back of strong demand from emerging markets such as China and Russia. Jonathan O'Regan, from Savills' central London investment team, told Reuters that "There will never be enough stores on Bond Street to satisfy retailer demand and therefore by owning them, the retailer protects their presence on the street in the future."
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