The West End has topped a new poll of European shopping destinations with a total retail spend of £8.5bn in 2013.
The data, compiled by retail specialist Harper Dennis Hobbs and the International Council of Shopping Centres, shows Paris in at second place with £7.7bn of retail spend and Madrid in third place with almost £5bn.
The UK has the greatest number of towns and cities in the top 50 with 10 in total. However, while London West End leads the pack as the best city centre in Europe, no other UK town or city makes the top 10.
Germany and Italy both feature strongly at the top of the rankings, with two cities each the top 10: Munich (5th) and Berlin (8th) for Germany and Rome (4th) and Milan (6th) for Italy.
Mike Morrissey, ICSC chief global co-ordination officer, said: “The top 10 towns and cities in Europe are those that have a strong residential, worker and tourist spend and include Rome, Munich, Milan, Moscow, Berlin, Zurich and Istanbul.
“There are some second city entries high up the table where tourism perhaps has a lesser impact, but which have strong retail cores with a wide choice of retail on offer, such as Glasgow and Hamburg.”
samantha.mcclary@estatesgazette.com
| Rank | City | Country | Spend (£bn) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London West End | UK | 8.5 |
| 2 | Paris | France | 7.7 |
| 3 | Madrid | Spain | 4.9 |
| 4 | Rome | Italy | 4.6 |
| 5 | Munich | Germany | 4.4 |
| 6 | Milan | Italy | 4.3 |
| 7 | Moscow | Russia | 4.3 |
| 8 | Berlin | Germany | 4.3 |
| 9 | Zurich | Switzerland | 4.3 |
| 10 | Istanbul | Turkey | 4.3 |
