The whispers are growing louder – are some of the world’s most iconic fashion brands coming to Perth? Marsha Jacobs knows where to find the answers.
Fashionistas unite and get ready to charge your champagne flutes. Gucci is coming to Perth.
It seems that Western Australians aren’t the only ones noticing how well our economy is doing right now, with the international high brand fashion retailer confirming to WA Business News this week that a Gucci store will be opening mid 2006.
The dearth of high-end fashion retailers in Perth seems to be coming to an end, with several other international names rumoured to be coming to Perth, including the company famous for little blue boxes, Tiffany and Co.
Gucci Australia managing director Helen Koo said there were plans for a Gucci store to open in mid 2006 in Monash House on the corner of Hay and King streets.
“We believe in Perth, it represents a tremendous opportunity for Gucci and we have been looking for the right location and environment to showcase the brand for some time,” she said. “We have a strong following and customer base in Western Australia that has voiced a demand for local accessibility.
“Globally the business is growing and Australasia represents an important growth market. We currently have stores in Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast, and Perth is a key component in our national expansion.
“We have secured a prime position in the historic Monash House on the corner of King and Hay streets, where a major redevelopment is planned.”
Ms Koo said Perth was a very style-conscious city with the fastest growing economy in the country. And it had the highest number of millionaires per square metre in Australia, she claimed, so the demand for high-end retailers and luxury goods was sure to increase.
“We have a strong customer base in Perth that frequently travel to our Sydney and Melbourne stores to purchase Gucci; they are fashion savvy and demand premium quality merchandise,” she said.
Ms Koo believes a growing desirability and appreciation for luxury brands, combined with a rise in disposable income and wealth, attracts high-end retailers to new cities.
“Perth is a cosmopolitan city with a unique character and lively energy, and as more high-end retailers enter the luxury shopping precinct, more will follow,” she told WA Business News.
And if you ask the well-heeled around Perth, it’s about time.
Apart from the King Street Louis Vuitton store, Perth has been a remarkably barren place for those who wish to deck themselves out in the world’s most glamorous, expensive and well-known labels.
While David Jones and Myer stock some luxury retail goods, the decadent and lavish store surroundings that go hand in hand with high-end retail have, in the main, been missing from Perth.
Australian CEO of Louis Vuitton, Philip Corne, said Australian consumers were becoming a lot more comfortable with luxury goods in general, and that over the 10-year period the Loius Vuitton store had been open in King Street in Perth, sales had grown consistently.
“Louis Vuitton is known for going into new markets before other retailers, and we knew 10 years ago that Perth was growing and had a good base,” Mr Corne said.
“It doesn’t surprise me that other luxury goods retailers are wanting to come to Perth.”
He said all aspects of the market were analysed when evaluating a new city – the economy, generation of wealth, and the tourist market in particular.
It was important to find a location sympathetic to your brand, Mr Corne said, adding that King Street was ideal for luxury retailers.
Exclusive boutiques, art galleries and trendy cafes have long favoured the King Street precinct, particularly between Hay and Murray streets.
The heritage-listed area has buildings formerly used predominantly as warehouses and storage facilities, and the impressive facades have largely been retained.
Tenants currently in that strip include Varga Girl, Ettro Café, Zomp Shoez, Kookai Boutique, Vanilla Fashion Boutique, Watches of Switzerland, Empire Rose, Greenhill Galleries, Louis Vuitton, Buzza Mens Store, Luxxe Gift Shop, Gulotti Gallery, Number 44 King Street Café, Creative Native Aboriginal Art Gallery, Periscope Boutique, Subway DC Boutique, and Cino to go Café.
Timing is all important, as French jeweller, watchmaker and accessory producer Cartier discovered some years ago when it was forced to close its store in King Street due to insufficient demand.
A Cartier executive contacted by WA Business News this week said that, if the economic situation in Perth had changed, there would be some potential to re-open a store.
Cartier currently has stores in Sydney, Melbourne and Surfers Paradise.
“We have just re-opened a store in Melbourne and are looking for a location in Queensland, so if Western Australia has strong figures to support it, we would certainly consider it,” the executive said.
“It depends on the purchasing power and economy of the state and whether there would be the market for the products that Cartier sells.”
Similarly, Tiffany and Co has stores in Sydney and Melbourne, and has recently opened another in Brisbane, and property industry players suggest that Tiffany is looking for a home in Perth.
