This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
IT has taken American fashion chain Forever 21 more than five years to find the perfect location to open its flagship Sydney CBD store.
Forever 21 has signed a 10-year lease over 2,741 sqm of space at the Sydney Arcade at 400 George St, within Pitt St Mall. The space will span three interconnected levels from lower ground to level 1.
The space was previously occupied by Adidas, Glue and Billabong, which will be amalgamated along with an additional 1,200 sqm of lower ground storage space, activated for retail use.
Forever 21 has been searching for a location in the Sydney CBD for over five years and later this year, it will open two new stores in Brisbane in November and AMP Capital’s Macquarie Centre in North Ryde in December.
“Australia is a terrific market which provides great scale, enabling us to expand further in the coming years. Pitt St Mall was always one of our top ten locations worldwide and we are thrilled to be opening,” Forever 21 director of real estate and business development Jatin Malhotra said.
Investa’s commercial development and leasing group executive Michael Cook said said Pitt St Mall is the most tightly held retail market in Australia and this transaction further demonstrates the appeal of the precinct to international retailers such as Zara, Uniqlo, Sephora, H&M and now Forever 21, who are entering the market and securing the highest profile space available.
Last week Investa and Stockland signed H&M to open its flagship store in the Sydney CBD in Glasshouse on Pitt St Mall. H&M was in the market for four years and finally secured 5,000 sqm (GLA) over three levels. The retailer will open its doors towards the end of 2015.
Investa’s general manager Sydney CBD portfolio Greg Long said Investa’s retail strategy has been focused on repositioning the Sydney Arcade at 400 George St to take advantage of strong demand from top quality brands that require high impact retail spaces in super prime locations.
“Our ability to convert lower ground storage to retail space has enabled the owners to capture significant capital value uplift by adding further valuable floor space and attracting the lease covenants of quality retailers,” he added.
In addition to the Forever 21 transaction, Ben Sherman has relocated from the building to The Galleries on George St, with the vacated site now undergoing fit out for Ugg Australia. Once completed in October 2014, it will be the largest Ugg Australia flagship store in the world.
400 George St is a 51,223 sqm office tower and retail arcade, jointly owned by Investa Property Trust, Investa Commercial Property Fund and M&G Asia Property Fund. The Sydney Arcade incorporates over 4,800 sqm of prime retail space.
“While we are focused on owning quality Australian office real estate in core CBD locations, 400 George St also provides us with exposure to the best retail real estate in Australia and we have optimised its value through active asset management in order to maximise returns for our investors,” Cook said.
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