New York is currently the world’s best city for conventional retailers. Los Angeles takes the runner-up spot, while Singapore completes the podium at the third place. New York offers an ideal location based on its socio-economic, demographic and political factors, as well as its tourist appeal and the quality of its infrastructure.

Demographics, the economy, politics, the socio-economic landscape, tourism, retail, fashion and trendiness represent the eight major areas analysed to give a score to these urban areas, underpinned by criteria such as population, wealth, GDP growth, minimum wage, tax barriers, airport passenger traffic, tourist figures and the entrepreneurial climate.

The ranking has been done by Hot Retail Cities whose mission is to help fashion companies better understand where they operate and where they can set up shop going forward. The report provides an analysis detailing the retail conditions in 100 cities around the globe. Based on these characteristics, the report measures each city’s degree of merit for conventional retailers.

The hope is that this tool, which offers great insight into all aspects and trends to identify the hottest retail cities, will become a key driver over time to optimise each city’s retailing conditions.

Retailers are faced with the challenge of serving a global market with local tastes. Their success in ultimately establishing a footprint within a certain market will depend on how well they analyse the local landscape.