You would have been reading the reports lately about improved consumer sentiment; and retail sales certainly do seem to be on the improve.
But as you look around Australia; there has also been an incredible amount of new retail space come onto the market.
Take the Melbourne scene, for example.
* The Daimaru conversion at Melbourne Central created some 70 new specialty shops;
* The GPO added a further 60 new shops;
* DFO at Southern Cross Station saw another another 100+ tenancies come on stream; and
* There are a further 10 or so specialty shops about to be come available in the old NAB building, at he corner of Collins & Elizabeth Streets.
And that doesn’t include the $100m upgrade and extension to Chadstone Shopping Centre – which will take it to 170,000 sq. metres, and make it the largest Regional Shopping Centre in Australia.
h3=. So how can Small Retailers survive?
The secret for the suburban retail strip centres is to start creating their own specialty niches.
Savills recently undertook a survey of 10 strip precincts around Melbourne. And the successful niches you’ll find emerging are:
|_^{width:45%}. Centre Road, Bentleigh | Most Fresh Food stores. |
|_. Chapel St & Bridge Rd | Clothing & Soft goods. |
|_. High Street, Armadale | Melbourne’s Homeware stores. |
For other strip centres to not only survive, but actually succeed … you’ll start to see this trend repeating Australia-wide. And it’s in these centres where you will find your future growth occurring.
