Fifth Avenue

Uwe Bald is vice president of international business development for Hermes, an expert provider of internationalization services to Europe, Russia, China and Brazil.

Before the advent of the internet, only a discerning group of individuals with large incomes could step into a boutique on Fifth Avenue or the Champs-Élysées to browse and purchase luxury items. All others were too intimidated by the price tags and notoriously arrogant sales personnel. The internet helped democratize the high-end shopping experience.

It's well known by now that U.S. retailers have been trying to combat declining mall traffic and increased online competition, and it's incumbent upon them to set themselves apart and get shoppers to visit their stores and open their wallets. In the industry's latest attempt to engage consumers, Japanese conglomerate Fast Retailing's Uniqlo chain on Friday became the first specialty apparel retailer to  install a Starbucks inside its 90,000-square-foot flagship store on Fifth Avenue, its largest location of the 1,400-store chain. 

Apple's iBeacon devices have the potential to change many aspects of shopping — and to demonstrate its commitment to the idea, Apple is turning on the iBeacons in 254 of its Stores across the U.S. today. The iBeacons, 20 of which are said to be in NYC's Fifth Avenue store, will connect to the

New York's Fifth Avenue ended its 11-year run as the world's most expensive retail area, dethroned by Hong Kong's Causeway Bay, according to a survey by real estate services company Cushman & Wakefield.The average retail real estate rent in the Causeway...

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