Scentre Group has opened its Westfield malls to 100 new retail brands as it looks to entice shoppers to the centres as they morph into a pseudo-town centre for the local community.
Scentre, which owns and operates interests in 39 Westfield shopping centres across Australian and New Zealand, said the tenants are mostly new to the shopping centre environment and have been "incubated" or established in a suburban strip environment.
Peter Allen, the chief executive of Scentre, at the group's interim results last Thursday, said the new retailers are seen as "unique operators, like breweries".
"They are generally, smaller brands and operate across a range of categories, mostly food, dining and beverage," Mr Allen said.
"These include Bettys Burgers and Bin 931 at Westfield Chermside in Brisbane; high street urban fashion, including Zane Robe and lifestyle brands such as the Deus motorcycle café now open at Warringah Mall in Sydney."
By adding the new brands, it allows the local community access to their favourite shops, and gives the retailer bigger foot traffic and the benefits of being in a busy mall, without parking issues that can be a hindrance along a suburban strip.
There is also the rise in demand of the luxe brands which are keen to enter a shopping centre. These include Reiss, Celine, Fendi and Tiffany, which has a small store in Westfield Sydney. Scentre will also add a luxury component to the David Jones store at 77 Market Street, Sydney when it takes ownership.
At the results, Mr Allen said the $638 million funds from operations for the half-year "highlight strong operating performance and reflect the benefit of our strategic focus on delivering long-term sustainable growth through our ability to curate an exceptional product mix and deliver extraordinary retail, lifestyle and entertainment experiences for our customers."
Matt Hudson, the national director, the head of retail leasing at Cushman & Wakefield, said there are many "hybrid" retail brands entering the market, such as Neil Perry's burger project.
He said mall landlords are doubling the space devoted to food and entertainment to about 20 per cent and some of this space is coming from the downsizing of department stores. This is allowing the new concepts to flourish.
"Retailers are now looking at satisfying time-poor consumers by offering high-quality food but in a grab-and-go format," Mr Hudson said.
"This allows them to have a higher turnover of customers but who are willing to pay restaurant prices. They are tier 1 retailers looking for more scalable options and lower the cost of doing business by running just one restaurant that can be empty on weekends."