Thursday, 1 July 2010

Australian Luxury Retail Recap - YE2010 - 1/07/10

So, what have we seen in the last financial year here in Australia on the luxury market?

We have seen New Luxury Precincts and Store Openings:

1. Sydney

• Bondi Junction - Luxury brands Louis Vuitton and Chanel opened, more recently joined by prestige brand Coach
• Sydney International Airport opened Emporio Armani, Burberry and Coach stores to name a few.
• Sydney CBD, Autore - the fine jewellery house opened their first retail boutique. Also in Sydney, Giorgio Armani S.p.A. signed an exclusive agreement with David Jones to become the only Australian department store to stock Armani Collezioni, Armani Jeans, and Armani leather goods and soft accessories.

2. Melbourne

• Chadstone- the new luxury precinct opened with brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Jimmy Choo, Burberry and Prada to name a few, all in one fabulous consolidated centre.
• David Jones Bourke Street - new concessions with Miu Miu, Coach and Burberry.

3. Brisbane

• Nothing luxury scraped in for YE 2010, however it will be a different story come YE 2011!

4. Perth

• Hay Street - Burberry opened their largest Australian square metre store and Emporio Armani extended its brand to the West.

We have seen announcements in Sydney, that Burberry will open a mega flagship store in the former Virgin store on George Street and Martin Place later in 2010 or early 2011 and Louis Vuitton will open their largest Australian store yet, on the corner of King and George Streets in the former Blacket Hotel site, opposite the Apple store. Westfield Sydney City project will come to life in two stages, the first planned for November this year.

We are sure to have missed a few, however these have been the retail expansion highlights of note for the financial year 2010 ended 30 June!

What does this say? International luxury brands are confident in continued investment strategies in Australia to ensure the past and current growth trajectory is capitalised on.

The first quarter of the calendar year for 2010 has seen slightly tougher times for some luxury brands, with cautious optimism leading into the third and fourth quarters of the calendar year and first quarter of the financial year.

If we have missed something key, please let us know!

Image source: zimbio.com

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Who's behind the MO DOWN

Melinda O’Rourke is the founder and Director of MO Luxury, a dynamic, Sydney-based management firm specialising in luxury brands and services. Melinda and her associates at MO work with local and international brands across prestige retail, fashion, fine jewellery, timepieces and specialised services. Melinda is well-connected, well-read, and well-versed in the demands of the luxury market and its client base. Her advice is firmly based in objectivity and ultimately, accountability. Melinda offers constructive counsel and both strategic and creative thinking and is able to draw upon a strong network of specialised talent to compliment the MO Luxury team as needed. Melinda enjoys excellent industry relationships and is regularly quoted in the business and fashion media. Read more about MO Luxury, www.moluxury.com.au