International retailers drive shopping centre revamps

Victoria is leading a burst of activity in the nation’s shopping centres but it is not just shoppers who are out and about.

New research shows development activity is also on the rise, with the number of regional centres completed hitting a decade high.

New CBRE research shows there is 406,778sq m of floor space being developed across Victoria, with most major projects at Westfield Fountain Gate, Eastlands shopping centre in Ringwood and Werribee Plaza.

New South Wales has about  293,940sq m of retail space under development, with big projects underway at the Macquarie Centre, Stockland Merrylands and Park Beach Plaza at Coffs Harbour.

CBRE Senior Research Manager Tammy Smith said international retailers were helping drive demand, along with an expected improvement in the retail environment.

“Given that large international retailers are focusing primarily on high street and prime regional centre locations, it is no surprise that owners are rolling out aggressive development plans in an effort to attract the best tenants to their centres,” Ms Smith said.

Retailers hoping for an improvement in the troubled sector received some good news earlier this month.

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show retail spending has improved, up 0.8% in September on the back of a rise of 0.5% in August.

Department store turnover led the way (2.8%), followed by accessory retailing (2.5%) and other retailing (1.6%).

The ABS figures showed a 1% increase in turnover in New South Wales and Victoria, a 0.8% increase in Queensland, 0.7% in South Australia , Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory. It fell 0.2% in Western Australia.

CBRE’s MarketView report shows there are developments in the works at 41 regional shopping centres.

“The fundamental drivers of retail are improving as mortgage holders benefit from interest rate falls which have acted to stabilise household deleveraging,” Ms Smith said.

“Improvements in consumer sentiment, together with rising house prices, look set to manifest into a stronger retail environment in the short to medium term.”