2023-07-12 07:41:30
Aurélien Fleurot / Photo credit: Riccardo Milani / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP 09:41, July 12, 2023
Attendance at the Champs-Élysées is at its highest. According to figures published Wednesday by Mytraffic, for Cushman & Wakefield, more and more pedestrians are walking the most beautiful avenue in the world. The massive return of tourists and office workers has boosted the figures: +15% over one year and even +80% compared to the pre-Covid period.
On average, a million people pass by a sign on the Champs-Élysées each month, enough to attract businesses that are betting a lot on the 2024 Olympic Games, despite the soaring rental prices.
Attendance breaking records
José has been selling newspapers on the Champs-Élysées for more than 20 years, he notices that the wide sidewalks are filling up visibly. “The avenue is starting to get full, I hadn’t seen it for a few years. A lot of people are talking to me about the Olympics, I think this kind of organization brings people back to the capital and therefore also to the Champs Élysées” , explains the trader.
A permanent crowd of tourists and it will not stop since if the Americans have returned in force to Paris, tourists from Asia, especially the Chinese, are still waiting, but the situation is changing.
“Souvenirs, luxury stores, large boutiques, they are no exception in any case”, confirms José, in his ideally located kiosk. Pedestrian attendance is at its highest, and far exceeds the pre-Covid period (January-February 2020). The attendance figure is even 80% higher than the average attendance before the pandemic, which had been impacted by the Yellow Vests movement.
An Olympics effect
The hunt for available space is raging, especially for ephemeral stores, “pop-up stores”, which favor a lease of a few months. Usually, it’s a way of exposing yourself without spending too much, now it’s just the opposite.
“There is an Olympic Games effect. The demand is much stronger than the supply. Normally, a pop-up store is rented for 50 to 70% of the price of a traditional commercial lease. Today, we are rather on values that are around 130%”, explains Christian Dubois, director of the trade department of Cushman and Wakefield, specialist in commercial real estate.
One of the few places available is at the Disney Store, which closed last month. A lease takeover can take between 6 months and 2 years, specifies Christian Dubois. This time, just 10 days after closing, requests poured in.
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