An established trend for Australian retailers to move in on New Zealand shopping centres has picked up momentum in the past two or three years.
But retail industry leaders John Albertson and Win Robinson say some Australians are deciding to set up shop here based on a fundamental misunderstanding.
The two markets are quite different.
The experience of the Kiwi Property Income Trust illustrates the scale of the current influx.
The owner of Auckland’s new Sylvia Park shopping centre has 10 Australian tenants that are new to this country.
“Howards, Storage Bed Bath and Table, Kookai, Secret Shhhh, Shoo Biz, Roxy, and Christopher Chronis Design, Playboy … the list goes on,” says KPIT chief executive Angus McNaughton.
He says those Australian firms arriving here in the current wave are looking for several sites, not just one or two.
“The nature of international retailing is that you need scale to make expansion viable.”
Australian retailers want to roll out several stores here but there is just not enough prime retail space available, says McNaughton.
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