Devwest signs Aldi for new centre

EXCLUSIVE: Aldi is continuing to stake its territory in Perth, with Wattle Grove the next frontier for the supermarket giant. 

Developer Devwest Group has signed Aldi to anchor a neighbourhood shopping centre in Perth’s eastern suburbs, the third new store for the supermarket chain to be added to its Western Australian rollout in as many months.

The Shire of Kalamunda has approved the new centre, which will total 3,200 square metres, including an Aldi store of around 1,000sqm.

Devwest director Chad Ferguson said Aldi’s lease was a 10-year term with options to extend.

Detailed design works are expected to be completed by August, while building contractor Whyte Constructions, which also built Devwest’s Dawesville neighbourhood shopping centre, is scheduled to mobilise on site in October.

The centre, which will also include a 600sqm medical centre and 12 other specialty retailers, is scheduled to open in October next year.

Mr Ferguson said the centre was originally going to be anchored by an IGA supermarket, but that deal fell through before discussions started with Aldi.

He said most of the specialty tenancies were already spoken for, with just three available to lease.

“Also on that particular project, the shopping centre will be at the front, while we’ve also carved up two lots at the rear,” Mr Ferguson said.

“One of them is going to be a gym and the other is going to be a childcare centre.

“Both of those have already been sold and they have both received development approval, so we’re looking to have the whole precinct finished at the same time.”

Mr Ferguson said signing Aldi was a significant coup for the developer, which would now seek to continue discussion for other potential opportunities as the supermarket chain continues its advance on the state.

Last month, Aldi confirmed it was formulating plans for a supermarket in Hilton, albeit with slight community opposition, as reported by Business News.

The Hilton plan followed Aldi’s announcement in May that it had purchased the Captain Stirling Shopping Centre in Nedlands, where it is planning to replace the existing IGA supermarket with one of its own.

The list of locations for Aldi’s $450 million WA rollout, which will ultimately total 70 stores in the state, is continually growing.

Along with Hilton, Wattle Grove and Nedlands, confirmed locations for new Aldi stores include Cannington, Southern River, Halls Head, Secret Harbour, Belmont, Kwinana, Rockingham, Australind, South Lake, Joondalup, Camillo, Midland, Mundaring, Ellenbrook, Mandurah, Waikiki, Maddington and Haynes.

Aldi has not said which stores would be the first to open, but last year Business News revealed the Joondalup store, at Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City, would likely be among the first, while the supermarket chain would not rule out the possibility of a simultaneous opening of more than one store.

The stores will all be underpinned by a distribution centre at Jandakot Airport, with Georgiou undertaking that construction work under a $51 million deal.

The 50,000sqm distribution centre is expected to be completed by Easter 2016, while the first stores are expected to open by the middle of the year.

Once the Jandakot centre is completed, Aldi is expected to fine-tune its distribution logistics to ensure a smooth opening for the first stores.

Aldi WA managing director Viktor Jakupec said the supermarket chain’s focus was on improving the communities in which its stores were established.

“Our operations improve the livelihood of local businesses, create employment opportunities and provide Australian families the best possible prices on high-quality products, many of which have been made locally.

Mr Jakupec said Aldi had also conducted in-depth research into the needs and wants of WA shoppers to ensure the success of its first stores.