The centrally-located Via Montenapoleone, the shopping heart of Milan, ranks fifth in the world in the classification of commercial rentals. This is according to the annual report "Main Street Across The World" by Cushman & Wakefield, now in its 30th edition, which examines 446 of the world’s main shopping streets. The great surprise of 2018 is the struggle at the top, where Causeway Bay in Hong Kong at an annual rate of 24,606 euros per sq.m. displaces the famous 5th Avenue in New York (20,733 euros per sq.m., in sharp decline compared to 28,262 euros per sq.m. of last year). In third place we find the top European site, with New Bond Street in London standing at 16,071 euro per square meter, followed by 13,992 euros per sq.m. at Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris. A short distance away, in fifth place, we find Italy’s number one, represented by the milanese Via Montenapoleone valued at 13,500 euros per sq.m.. In the European ranking, Via Montenapoleone is in third place, in the company of 3 other Italian streets positioned in the Top 10: fourth place is reserved for Via Condotti in Rome (11,500 euros per sq.m.), sixth is Calle San Moisè in Venice (6,000 euros per sq.m.) and eighth place is Via Roma in Florence (5,800 euros per sq.m.). Among the streets that showed the greatest growth are Makati (Metro Manila) in the Philippines with +69.3% at 578 euros per sq.m.; Alameda Lorena in São Paulo at +62.5% (477 euros per sq.m.), and Rua de Santa Catarina in Porto +30.4% (900 euros per sq.m.). The streets that suffered most this year included Chevy Chase in Washington DC, marking -33.3% (461 euros per sq.m.) and Istanbul's Bagdat Caddesi -24% (1,644 euros per sq.m.). 
Thomas Casolo, Head of Retail at Cushman & Wakefield Italy says: "The luxury Retail market in Italy is active, with demand fueled mainly by major groups, which are always looking for the perfect location and at the same time have different brands in which to invest. Confirmed interest is focused on the major tourist cities that attract a growing number of potential consumers and for which a further slight increase in rents is expected. Milan is differentiated from other cities by the high concentration of companies that operate in the Fashion and Design sector, the excellence of which is recognized internationally.”

Below are the Top 10 worldwide:

Rank Nation City Location Rent Euros/Sqm/Year
1 Hong Kong Hong Kong Causeway Bay  24,606
2 USA New York 5th Avenue 20,733
3 United Kingdom London New Bond Street 16,071
4 France Paris Avenue des Champs Elysees 13,992
5 Italy Milan Via Montenapoleone 13,500
6 Japan Tokyo Ginza 11,232
7 Australia Sydney Pitt Street Mall 8,882
8 South Korea Seoul Myeongdong 8,364
9 Switzerland Zurich Bahnhofstrasse 7,872
10 Austria Vienna Kohlmarkt 4,740