Retail roundup: London tops Dubai, Apple, trademarks in China

By Shan Li

April 21, 2012 12 AM PT

--London has overtaken Dubai as the world’s prime shopping destination, according to a new report.

The British capital attracts the most retail brands among all the great shopping cities around the globe, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE. Last year, London and Dubai tied for first place and beat out shopping hot spots such as New York, Hong Kong and Paris.

CBRE said London draws about 56% of all international brands, with Dubai close behind at 54%. In third place is New York, followed by Moscow, Paris and Hong Kong.

--One of high-tech company’s Apple Inc.’s greatest successes has been its brick-and-mortar stores, which far outsell other retailers’ physical shops, according to analysis firm Asymco.

Apple’s annual sales per square foot have jumped to $5,626, compared with an average of $330 per square foot raked in by stores at American malls, Asymco said. The iPhone and iPad maker also beats the top 20 retailers in the country, which pull in an average of $787 per square foot.

--Legal spats over allegations of trademark infringement online have risen 54% over the last year, according to the Chinese-language newspaper China Daily.

Courts throughout China received almost 13,000 trademark complaints over the last year, a sharp increase from the previous year, as online shopping and e-commerce explodes in the country, a spokesman for the Supreme People’s Court told the newspaper.

“A considerable number of these cases were triggered on the Internet, although we didn’t make a specific count,” spokesman Sun Jungong said. “And the proportion is increasing.”

The Times has previously reported on the growing number of Asian companies snapping up trademarks for famous American brands or personalities, including J. Crew and Oprah Winfrey.

Best Buy to close stores after reporting losses

Trademark squatting in China doesn’t sit well with U.S. retailers