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Prague is the ninth most attractive location for international retailers in Europe

Prague, 18 March 2014 – Prague as the Czech capital city and one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, represents the most developed retail destination in the whole of Central Europe. Compared to other cities within CEE, Prague has the highest number of luxury brands within the region.

“In other CEE countries , the majority of mainstream and premium retail brands are entering the market via shopping centres and after opening on the high street subject to being able to securing the space. As a result, the high street in the other Central European Capitals lags behind the shopping centres, the only exception after Prague being Andrássy and Váci Streets in Budapest,” says Beatrice Mouton, Head of Retail Agency CEE at JLL.

Prague is one of Europe’s best performing regions in terms of GDP per capita and its well-preserved architecture makes it a popular tourist destination. Not surprisingly, Prague ranks as the ninth most attractive location for international retailers in Europe, being ahead of cities such as Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg and Amsterdam. Tommy Hilfiger, Tod’s, Harmont & Blaine, Pal Zileri, Tombolini, Zenith, Bell&Ross, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, Tiffany & Co. and Minelli are some of the city’s latest prestigious entrants.

Sylvie Samadi, Head of Retail Agency Czech Republic and Slovakia at JLL, adds: “Compared to the mature core retail markets of Europe such as London, Paris or Milan, Prague represents a so called, growth market of Europe, an opportunity for retailers that are already established in the mature markets and seek expansion possibilities. Prague is close to their domestic markets and represents an attractive but safe choice.”

Luxury segment

“The position of Prague in the luxury segment is exceptional in the context of CEE. Out of the top 20 luxury brands, with the highest presence on  Europe´s high street locations, 17 of them have their monobrand stores in Prague. The remaining 3 top-level brands that have not yet opened in Prague are Chanel, Giorgio Armani and Bally,” comments Blanka Vačkova, Senior Research Analyst at JLL.

Tourists help the growth

According to TripAdvisor, which announces the winning tourist destinations based on millions of reviews from TripAdvisor travellers from all around the world, Prague was recognized as World’s ninth Best Travel Spot in 2013. Between 2012 and 2013, it improved its position by 7 places.

Between 2000 and 2013, the number of international tourists to Prague, both leisure and business alike, doubled, reaching 4.75 mil people in 2013. The Czech Republic’s accession to the EU in 2004 helped grow Prague’s tourism industry; with guest arrivals rising by almost 28% that year. From a retail consumer perspective, the major driver of the high street in Prague is represented by Russian and Chinese tourists. China, which was not struck by the global financial crisis, represents the largest growth market for luxury goods,“ says Blanka Vačkova.