Federal Government’s proposed Merger Reform must be fit for purpose
There’s a proposed merger reform. All shopping centre mergers and acquisitions above $35 million will need ACCC approval. In short, it’s to prevent any owner dominating a specific trade area....
Retail Trends 2024: Asset Management trumps greenfield development
The team at Titanium look at the retail trends for 2024 across developments, leasing, design and food. In a period where capital and developments are hard to get off the...
Electric Vehicle Chargers: Hype and regulation will be the enemy of sensible market solutions
Interested in exploring the idea of Electric Vehicle charging bays in shopping centres? Yes, we’ve already got some – but could they be forced upon us (by legislation) in the...
Legislation to prohibit managed parking (shopping centres only) – a case study of flimsy policy
Ask anyone in our industry – from the first-year executive to the CEO, “Why do shopping centres charge for parking after a certain free period?” You’ll get only one answer:...
The role of inflation in shopping centre values
The world is changing! Inflation has arrived, unemployment is down and wages are on the increase. What has been ‘normal’ for the past decade is now abnormal. Someone’s kicked the...
What’s in store for Sydney CBD retail?
The three graphs in this article paint the picture. Figure 1 shows the international tourist arrivals over the past decade; Figure 2 shows Sydney CBD rental levels and Figure 3...
Retailers welcome change to isolation rules across Victoria and New South Wales
Retailers welcome the announcement to change close contact isolation rules in Victoria and New South Wales this weekend, anticipating it will lessen the burden of labour shortages throughout the industry....
Big Guns: where to post-COVID?
How have Big Guns been affected by COVID? And, more importantly, what does the future hold? COVID has impacted many things and has accelerated changes that were already on the...
Mainbrace: leading retail construction
This article by Rob Doust, Managing Director, Mainbrace Constructions, was first published as part of a special feature in SCN’s July/August edition We’ve been capturing rich project cost data for years, and while...
The role of retail in mixed-use
This article by Cameron Leggatt, Executive General Manager Development, Frasers Property Australia, was first published as part of a special feature in SCN’s July/August edition At Burwood Brickworks in Melbourne, Frasers Property...
Rethinking Retail: Why Retailers with ‘bricks’ as well as ‘clicks’ outperform the competition
The viability of physical retail stores has been a hot topic ever since the popularity surge of online shopping. SCN speaks with DMA Partners Managing Director Ryan Andersen and Comac...
From the Publisher
This ‘From the Publisher’ article by Michael Lloyd was first published in SCN Vol. 39 no. 3, July 2021 Pacific Fair is for sale – the whole thing – as...
Is this the end of the shopping centre lease?
‘The Lease’ defines the relationship between the centre owner/manager and the retailer. Traditionally, at its foundation, is the ratio between turnover and rent. As Brian Walker explains, this could be...
Online retail complements traditional businesses says NRA
Online sales are rocketing – up some 57% in 2020. But people like to shop; they like getting out of the house (as distinct from ‘lockdowns’). According to the NRA,...
The geography of recruitment in a post-COVID market
Eddie Reed, Director and Founder of Property Network Australia (PNA) gives us an overview of what his business is currently seeing and the rise of Australia’s attractiveness as a location of choice...
Harnessing big data to make precincts
“Just think of all the things that have come and gone in our own lifetimes, all the would-be futures we watched age into obsolescence – CD, DVD, answering machine, Walkman,...
Sydney’s retail heart is changing. What is the future of CBD retail?
Bridget Fea heads up Brookfield’s National Retail Division and is looking after the leasing of its $2 billion Wynyard Place development. In this opinion piece, she looks at the transformation of George...
Hiring strategies: Time to think outside the square?
Whenever we witness a major global ‘event’, we react and our behaviours change; and we certainly see these significant events occur more often than they used to. In this current...
Double dipping
A retailer employs a ‘casual’ worker. The employee doesn’t want permanent employment because the ‘casual rates’ are higher – casuals don’t have leave entitlements and other benefits enjoyed by permanent...
How retail tenants can negotiate a better leasing deal in the current environment
As COVID-19 forced retailers to temporarily shut up shop, it has created the issue of ongoing rental payments and how they can be negotiated during a time when many businesses...
What shopping centres can learn from public markets in a post COVID-19 world
James Murray, Principal and co-founder of TANDEM Design Studio has observed the role of micro tenancies in a range of contexts – from his early role in Federation Square, the rise...
Shopping centres across Australia: our new local hero
As coronavirus fears boosted grocery sales and the stockpiling of essentials, many local shopping centres experienced an unprecedented increase in foot traffic. Ben Walker of Shopper Media Group shares data...
Another day, another article about the end of physical retail… Let’s examine the facts
In less than four months, the COVID-19 pandemic has turned Australia’s supply chain and business processes upside down. This comes as social distancing practices underpin an unprecedented shift towards online...
What retail can learn from the UK ‘foot and mouth’ epidemic of 2001
We’re in unchartered waters. This is an entirely ‘new’ situation. It’s never happened before. All valid statements – in the ‘macro’ sense. But in the ‘micro’ sense, it has previously...
ICSC abandons its global role
The International Council of Shopping Centres is anything but ‘International’. Over the years, the ICSC has ‘positioned’ itself as the ‘authoritative institution’ of the shopping centre world. But that’s purely...
5 parking tips to help Shopping Centres survive COVID-19
Shopping centre car parks have been dramatically affected by the slowdowns resulting from the COVID-19 restrictions. Allison Yeoland of Parking Asset Advisory shares some of her tips on how shopping...
Will Australian retail landlords buy their tenants?
As the risk of retailer exits becomes increasingly heightened, JLL’s Senior Research Analyst Louise Burke discusses the possibility and hurdles for REITs purchasing retailers. Recently, a consortium including major North...
The ‘substitution effect’ creates consumer rush for household products
A new shopping frenzy is taking hold as consumers rush to buy a host of products to maintain their lifestyle at home. Dr Prashan Karunaratne, economist from the Macquarie University...
Retail Leasing: The past and future decade
How have shopping centre yields compressed during the past eight years or so? How many stores have closed through major retailer collapses over the same period? Do you know the...
Christmas foot traffic increased – it’s a pity you may not read about it
The quality of journalism in this country (with few exceptions that prove the rule), continues to plummet. When it comes to shopping centre issues, it would seem there is a...
A blueprint for Australian retail recovery
Retail is being challenged on a number of fronts – the latest two being bushfires and the coronavirus. The NRA has released its proposals… Australian retail is currently confronting an...
In praise of Australia
Ian Thomas the founder and chairman of Thomas Consultants, one of the leading (if not ‘the’) Retail Property Development consultancies in the world. An Aussie, he’s lived in Canada for...
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