Shopping Centre

The major Australian retailer behind well-known fashion brands including Noni B, Katies and Rivers will close 250 stores amid ongoing rental disputes with landlords throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

roperty developer Mirvac Group has become the latest residential player to report strong home sales on the back of government stimulus, as the company also makes a push into the build-to-rent sector.

Solomon Lew has added some teeth to his years of threats of walking away from bricks-and-mortar stores unless rents are lowered to reflect the new realities of shopping behaviour, with his Premier Investments booking $8.7m in charges to prepare for the possible closure of 350 stores across Australia and New Zealand.

Retail landlord HomeCo is defying the coronavirus pandemic by looking to expand its empire of convenience retail stores beyond the former Masters sites it has redeveloped, and is seeking major acquisitions in western Sydney.

Scentre Group, owner of the local Westfield empire, has fired a fresh shot in the broader battle between landlords and tenants, saying it has collected 86% of rents in August.

The prospect of more lockdowns across Australia to control the coronavirus pandemic has prompted a warning from credit agency Moody’s Investors Service that virus flare-ups and weak consumer sentiment are delaying retail sector recovery.

Mosaic Brands chief executive Scott Evans, who plans to close hundreds of stores, has a simple message for shopping centre landlords who refuse to give ground on rent: “This is not a bluff.”

The battle between shopping centre landlords and retailers is entering a new and potentially more dangerous phase as the country’s largest listed retail property company signals it will take a tough line on larger chains refusing to pay rent.

The normally subterranean battle between shopping centre owners and hard-pressed tenants burst into ugly view this week, with much more at stake than the usual tough talk between business rivals.