Singapore ranks fifth among global alpha cities for new luxury store openings: Savills
Shanghai and Beijing came in first and second, respectively, followed by Tokyo. All 3 cities proved y-o-y development in terms of brand-new openings, as did Singapore and Hong Kong, the latter of which placed nine. On the other hand, New york city, Paris and London all saw less new high-end store launchings in 2024 compared to the year prior to, which Savills says reflects availability challenges, instead of an absence of appetite.
In spite of a greater amount of establishment startings in Singapore in 2024, available property for deluxe brands stays limited, notes Sulian Tan-Wijaya, executive director for retail and lifestyle at Savills Singapore. Consequently, she believes this can limit the development and expansion of high-end brands in the city, unless new source comes on stream in the form of new retail developments aim at premium stores.
In regards to much smaller location and portal metropolitan areas, Apac industry also dominated rankings, with Bangkok coming in top for new openings.
Regardless, international brand-new luxury outlet openings increased 12% y-o-y in 2024, primarily backed by China, that made up 40% of all brand-new openings worldwide. Excluding China, Apac was still the biggest buildup area in establishment count terms, accounting for 24% of all brand-new starts worldwide.
Among deluxe retail industry locations, Hong Kong kept its leading position as one of the most costly retail place in the world, with prime headline retail rents reaching at EUR17,132 ($25,549) per sqm per annum. New York’s Madison appeared in 2nd at EUR15,559 per sqm per year, increasing from fifth place last year, while London’s Bond Street appeared in 3rd at EUR15,333 per sqm per annum, increasing from fourth area last year. Singapore’s Orchard Road placed 19th, with prime rents at EUR1,725 per sqm per annum.
Marie Hickey, executive of commercial research at Savills, mentions that whilst the deluxe retail market’s performance stabilised in 2024, decreased consumer sentiment in the US and China can weigh on growth. She expects this to shape real estate investment, with the emphasis over the short-term to remain “on the best opportunities”.
Anthony Selwyn, co-head of worldwide retail at Savills, thinks core high-end markets will certainly become increasingly tough. “As a consequence, upward pressure on prime leas in these industry will definitely proceed, albeit expansion will slow, with availability of space coming to be much more constrained,” he adds.
The report saw that around the world, prime retail location rents expanded in 2024, supported by the return of worldwide vacation. Of the 21 locations tracked by Savills, around 75% signed up saw prime headline leas ascending y-o-y or keeping stable in 2024.
Singapore placed fifth amongst worldwide alpha cities for new high-end store openings in 2024, according to a research study information by Savills. In its Global Luxury Retail 2025 article, the property consulting firm discovered that the city-state was among several Asia Pacific (Apac) cities that dominated the rankings.
