Perth poised as Australia’s next fashion city with mass retail investment

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Jun 15, 2017

Not to be left in the fashion wake of Sydney and Melbourne, Perth is set to receive an estimated AU$5.1 million in investment from shopping centre owners to transform the city's central business district by 2020.

According to a new report by independent commercial property research firm, Y Research, the Western Australian capital city will take on 49 retail projects between 2017 and 2020, offering a mix of shopping centre renovations and expansions to existing centres and new centres too.
 
The works will increase Perth’s shopping centre footage by 25%, and will host new department stores, discount retailers, and supermarkets, as well as international retailers – a total of 1,480 additional speciality retailers, according to the firm.

The builds will increase Perth’s shopping centre footage by 25%, and will host new department stores, discount retailers, and supermarkets, as well as international retailers – a total of 1,480 additional speciality retailers, according to the firm.
 
“Building on the recent success of Aldi and H&M, by the end of the decade Perth will likely see brands such as Marks and Spencer, TK Maxx, Uniqlo, GAP, Sephora, Miniso, Decathlon and Under Armour open stores in WA,” said chief problem solver of Y Research, Damian Stone.
“New centres will also see partnerships between existing retailers and international retailers such as Harris Scarfe who will exclusively offer British retailer Debenham’s fashion apparel.”

In Perth alone, ten centres were completed in 2016, with another 22 neighbourhood centres to be added by 2019.