Since TopShop hit our shores and made serious waves (not to mention cash), major international retailers have started taking Australia seriously and now it feels like not a month goes by without the announcement of yet another international retailer popping up in a city near you.
The latest announcement comes from H&M who are set to launch their second Melbourne store and their first outside of the CBD. The lucky location is none other than Eastland and will be part of the shopping center’s $665 million, 48,000 square meter transformation happening this year. The first wave of the development will launch in late 2015, with stage due for completion mid-2016.
H&M’s news comes just two weeks after Canadian retailer Kit and Ace announced plans to launch into the Australian market. The Vancouver-based retailer designs and develops technical luxury apparel from proprietary fabrics like machine-washable cashmere.
Kit and Ace have announced they will be opening up shop in Melbourne and Sydney in the coming months with the first store opening at the end of this month in Melbourne’s Prahran. The Sydney store will launch in August in a 150 square meter space in Surry Hills.
While so far the internationals to take Australia have been majors, like H&M, Kit And Ace’s announcement could mark a new wave of retail where smaller players set their sites on Australia. What that means for Aussie retailers, only time will tell, but for now we’re just excited to have even more options!
