This was published 7 years ago
Oroton takes off at Sydney airport as Tiffany & Co seeks new home
By Carolyn Cummins
Sydney city is set for a fresh round of retail musical chairs triggered by redevelopments and the construction of the Metro rail system from George Street to Martin Place and out to the international airport.
One of the biggest moves is the luxe brand Tiffany & Co, which is seeking new digs in the central business district after the NSW government's compulsory acquisition of 39 Martin Place to accommodate the Metro rail system.
While not confirmed, it is said that Tiffany & Co is looking at the retail component at 175 Pitt Street for its new three-storey flagship site. Alistair Palmer, the national director, retail services group Australia, at CBRE, who advises Tiffany & Co, was unavailable for comment.
In a separate move, Tiffany & Co is opening a smaller store at Westfield Sydney.
The Tiffany & Co store at Castlereagh Street and Martin Place has to move following the sale of the property. Credit: Daniel Munoz
It will be one of many moves by retailers in Sydney's CBD in coming years as they jostle for space in the revamped George Street and also when the new owners of the David Jones Market Street store, Scentre Group and Cbus Property, take possession of the site and lease to new luxe tenants.
The $1 billion Wynyard train station and office project will also attract new retail labels, while UK department store Debenhams will see how its Melbourne store trades before seeking out a Sydney site.
Upmarket jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels is opening its new site on the corner of Pitt and Market Street, while big brands are looking at a site in the MLC Centre on Castlereagh Street.
Australian lifestyle brand Oroton has expanded its operations with the opening of a new boutique at Sydney Airport's T1 International terminal.
Australian lifestyle brand Oroton has opened its new boutique at Sydney Airport's T1 International terminal.
Oroton will offer a range of women's and men's leather goods, accessories, jewellery, travel essentials and apparel in its 114 square metre site. It will join Hermes, Tiffany & Co and Emporio Armani, among others, with Gucci to launch next year.
Sydney Airport general manager retail Glyn Williams said he was "delighted to welcome the return of one of Australia's most-loved brands to T1".
"It's fantastic to see this iconic Australian brand at Sydney Airport again and we know passengers will enjoy the new Oroton experience, as we deliver a retail mix to suit our evolving passenger demographic," Mr Williams said.
Oroton chief executive Mark Newman said Sydney Airport was the ideal location for its new boutique.
"We are thrilled to open our latest concept boutique at T1. Oroton is an Australian brand with a rich heritage, so it's a natural fit to have a strong presence at Australia's gateway airport," Mr Newman said.
The movements also reflect the busy retail sector which, according to Daniel Lees, director of research for Colliers International, is going to be even stronger in 2017.
He expects rents within shopping centres to grow over the coming 12 months, based on a mix of inflation-linked contractual increases and forecasts for increasing retail demand.
"Our outlook for further rental growth is supported by institutional commentary during the most recent reporting season, where landlords including Charter Hall Retail REIT, Mirvac, Shopping Centres Australia, GPT and Vicinity Centres noticed positive releasing spreads in a range of 0.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent," Mr Lees said.
"Australian shopping centre rents across all states and categories grew 0.62 per cent over the year to third quarter of 2016 and over the next 12 months to the same time in 2017, we expect this growth rate will increase to 2.14 per cent on average," he said.