When upscale designer-wear store Intermix opened its doors on Bloor Street last week, right next to chic neighbours Burberry and Hermès, it was more than a statement about high fashion.

It was yet another sign of how Toronto’s toniest retail strip continues to defy economic uncertainty, holding firm as the most expensive shopping street in Canada and the 20th most expensive in the world. It held the same ranking last year.

Rents that now exceed $325 (U.S.) per square foot annually aren’t putting off American and European retailers looking to get a toehold in the lucrative Canadian market, says commercial real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield in its annual Main Streets Across the World 2011 research report released Thursday.

“Luxury retail has actually done very well (despite global economic upheaval) and retailers around the world are saying, ‘We’ve got to be in the best locations because that’s where we make the most money,’“ says John Crombie, a managing director at Cushman & Wakefield.

“They are looking at places like Bloor Street and Fifth Avenue in New York, Bond Street in London and saying, ‘Even though we spend a lot of money to be there, the sales and profile justify it.’“

Bloor St. W. rents are, in fact, a bargain compared with those in the top three most expensive shopping districts in the world: New York is No. 1 with rents hitting $2,250 (U.S.) per square foot, followed by Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay at $1,943 and Tokyo’s Ginza at $1,044, the report noted.

“Demand is expected to remain robust as retailers seek to enter new prime markets abroad rather than looking for compromised locations in their own backyards,” says researcher Martin Mahmuti.

The story isn’t quite as upbeat on Queen St. W. — the only Canadian main street where rents have dropped as a number of big-name brands, such as Esprit, have shuttered stores, says Crombie.

“Queen has just righted itself in terms of rates,” which have dropped from highs hitting $140 per square foot to the more realistic $100-a-square-foot range, he says.

“There was a bit of a herd mentality: ‘I can’t be on Bloor so I’ve got to be on Queen Street.’ But retailers didn’t do their homework. The customer base was too young and they just weren’t spending.”

The recent opening of Canada’s first Xbox 360 Central store on Queen just west of Spadina Ave. — touted as the hands-on “hub of all things entertainment and gaming” — is evidence of how the district is being “refreshed,” says Crombie.

“The retailers that should have been there are now going there and the retailers that shouldn’t have been there have vacated.”

That’s left Queen West storefronts better suited to “unique, one-off” retail, he added.