Luxury brands tipped for Athenaeum Club

International retailers are expected to come calling after the shops beneath one of Melbourne’s oldest gentlemen’s clubs were put up for lease.

The Athenaeum Club, which has called 85 Collins St home since 1868, has put 400sqm of retail space up for grabs as leases to watchmaker Rolex and Ashley Opal Jewellers come to an end.

The stores are at the heart of Melbourne’s luxury retail precinct, with Prada and Hermes next door and Cartier and Christian Louboutin across the road.

Leasing frenzy: Melbourne CBD vacancy hits five-year low

CBRE associate director Zelman Ainsworth, who is managing the leasing campaign, says the shops will be marketed to high-end foreign brands in the United States, Hong Kong and Europe.

“It is rare for retail space in this pocket of Collins Street to be taken to the open market,” Ainsworth says.

Melbourne has been a primary target, with a host of global retailers having either signed new leases (or) entered the Melbourne market for the first time

“However, overwhelming interest from international retailers seeking to secure space within this block of Collins St has spurred the club’s decision to launch an on market campaign.”

Charter Keck Cramer national director Steve Kingston is advising the Athenaeum Club, and says leasing opportunities in the historic building are rare.

“Given the longevity of retailers at both the club and in immediately adjoining buildings, this is really a once in 15-year opportunity,” Kingston says.

The campaign comes as vacant retail space in Melbourne’s CBD becomes increasingly rare. A Savills report in March revealed CBD vacancies sit below 3%, driven by a food and fashion boom.

It is rare for retail space in this pocket of Collins Street to be taken to the open market

The report found there were now 38 extra clothing, footwear and personal accessory stores in the city’s 6.2 square kilometre city centre.

Ainsworth says international retailers are continuing to drive that demand.

“Australia has been a top performer for international retailers in the past five years, with strong sales and a buoyant Asian tourism market being two of the key attractions for luxury brands seeking flagship retail space,” he says.

“Melbourne has been a primary target, with a host of global retailers having either signed new leases (or) entered the Melbourne market for the first time – among them Hermes, Longchamp, Bang & Olufsen, Omega, Coach, TAG, Carter, Christian Louboutin, Rolex, Chopard, Van Cleef and Coach.”