Lille And Its Region At The Heart of Europe's Richest Consumer Centre

Online, August 1, 2011 (Newswire.com) - A commissioned study conducted by Experian Ph, one of the world's leading companies in information processing, analytical tools and marketing services, shows that the city of Lille and its region in northern France are at the heart of the richest consumer centre in Europe within a 300-kilometre radius.

On a European scale, Lille and its region rank 1st in terms of purchasing power. With €1,524 billion in potential purchasing power within a 300-kilometre radius, the Lille region ranks first among European metropolitan areas, ahead of Cologne (€1,503b), Brussels, Dusseldorf, Dortmund, and well ahead of London in 18th place and Paris which ranks 32nd (with €815b).

Moreover, with 78 million people living within a 300-kilometre radius, Lille and its region are at the heart of the 2nd largest population centre in Europe, right behind Cologne (80 million people) and ahead of Dusseldorf (76 million people).

Those findings stem from a precise, certified scientific approach conducted on the basis of "population" and "purchasing power" data collected from the exhaustive ESRI-MB Research 2010 database.

The study then went on to position Lille and its region in purchasing power potential on a worldwide scale.

Accordingly, purchasing power potential within 300 kilometres of the 5 leading metropolitan areas in Europe (Lille, Cologne, Brussels, Dusseldorf and Dortmund) was compared to that of the 10 leading metropolitan areas in the world (Tokyo, Shanghai, Mumbai, Delhi, New York, Jakarta, Seoul, Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Manila).

It turns out that, whatever sources are used, Lille and its region, in terms of potential purchasing power within a 300-kilometre radius, are at the heart of the 3rd richest consumer centre worldwide, ranking behind that of Tokyo and that of New York.

This worldwide ranking was established on the basis of a non-exhaustive documentary approach using several databases on population (Geonames, Wikipedia, Demographia World Urban Areas & Population and World Gazetteer 2010) and the GDP in purchasing power parity per inhabitant in billions of Euros (CIA, IMF, World Bank 2010).

The full study may be consulted on the website at www.projectcenter.fr

For additional information on Lille and its region, contact

Marie-Helène CAUCHY
Communications Manager
Phone: +33 (0) 359 562 336
email : [email protected]
Website : http://www.investinorthernfrance.com