The world’s most expensive retail rents

As a shopping destination, Hong Kong has over the past decade charted a course towards the very high-end in brands — and it seems retailers are now paying a very expensive price for the trend.
With a 46 percent rise in rents, quarter on quarter, Hong Kong is now second only to New York in terms of what tenants pay for retail locations across the city.
Hong Kong last year surpassed Sydney as the second-most expensive city in the world, with the average cost being paid now hitting US$1,687 per square foot per year according to global commercial property company CB Richard Ellis.

New York still tops the charts with rents at US$1,900 but Hong Kong seems intent on closing the gap as the world’s leading brands continue to set up shop all over town.

Local media here have reported that even US casual retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has gotten in on the act and is paying HK$7.5 million (US$964,000) a month for a shop in downtown Central that’s estimated to cover around 12,000 square feet. It has up until now been occupied by high-end clothing company Shanghai Tang.
The fact that Hong Kong is the favorite shopping destination for mainland China plays a significant role in the demand for retail space here — a record 22.7 million arrived during 2010 and April saw 2.1 million cross the border.
Overall, retail rental rates grew 3.8 percent globally, year on year, according to CBRE.

The world’s most expensive retail rents
(US$/sq ft per annum)

1. (1) New York 1,900
2. (3) Hong Kong 1,697
3. (2) Sydney 1.301
4. (4) London 909
5. (6) Zurich 829
6. (5) Tokyo 807
7. (7) Paris 783
8. (8) Brisbane 753
9. (9) Moscow 721
10. (10) Melbourne 691
11. (11) Guangzhou 575
12. (12) Los Angeles 520
13. (14) Milan 500
14. (16) Munich 490
15. (13) Chicago 480
16. (15) Singapore 470
17. (17) Rome 461
18. (18) Beijing 449
19. (19) Frankfurt 442
20. (23) Shanghai 414

source:Luxuo

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Gresso Luxor World Time luxury phone

Luxury phone maker Gresso introduces its new Luxor World Time, designed specifically for the world traveler.
As you can see from the image above, owners have the ability to bring up the time for six different locations at a time.
This is handled by the six independent Swiss clockwork mechanisms. The company says that the power reserve is clocked at 10 years.
Watch on the back panel of the phone shows time of the five main world business centres: Tokyo, Moscow, Paris, London and New York.

The sixth, and perhaps most important, slot is wherever you want it to be, which can be your home, or where you might be travelling to.
Screen and clock-face with elegant Roman figures located on the back panel are fringed with two 97-carat sapphire crystals with high-gloss coating.
Luxor World Time case is produced from ultrastrong and superlight titanium alloy specially developed for Gresso.


It is coated with high-tech ceramics at the closing stage – such coating does not tarnish and discolor with the lapse of time (this material was originally used only in space industry).
The front panel is offset with a bezel made of planished steel with black PVD coating, while the back panel features genuine Italian leather.
Each key of the keypad made of a single sapphire crystal that has been manually polished with a diamond tool to make it pleasant to the touch.
Gresso is selling the Luxor World Time phone through its website for US$6,000.