The report covers all elements of retailing in the central city, and tracks our progress in achieving the objectives of the strategy during the past year 2010:2011 – specifically major retail trends and challenges, marketing and city activation and investment and infrastructure.
Even if your business isn’t in the retail sector, it’s worth finding out what’s happening in the world of city retail. Highlights are provided for each chapter of the report as well as a downloadable document.
Introduction
This section includes forewords from the Lord Mayor and the Minister for Innovation, Services and Small Business; Minister for Tourism and Major Events. Also an overview of the Melbourne Retail Strategy 2006:2012, and a message from the Melbourne Retail Advisory Board Chair, Susan Renouf.
Chapter 1: Investment and infrastructure
Melbourne continues to grow and flourish as a retail destination that is appealing to major international investors such as Costco and Zara. Bourke Street continues to evolve, with the re-opening of the Myer flagship store and the refurbishment of the two David Jones stores.
Over the last 12 months retail vacancy rates within the retail core of the City of Melbourne have continued to be at record lows. To investigate the broader opportunities connected with Swanston Street’s redevelopment, the City of Melbourne commissioned SGS Economics and Planning to conduct a rigorous assessment of retail prospects and strategies for future growth.
Chapter 2: Major retail trends and challenges
As part of the retail strategy, literature from Europe’s foremost brand strategy, consumer insight and trends research consultancies – Future Lab is constantly reviewed to pinpoint new directions and to inform Melbourne’s retail constituents of emerging trends.
Growth of e-tailing has ensured retailers need to focus on the shopping experience and conviviality with recent trend reports highlighting a perceptible move towards people choosing to interact in the real world rather than online.
Vertical retail continues to be an area of growth and opportunity, particularly within the city’s laneways with both above and below ground retail increasing – numbers of establishments, floor space and employment have all grown substantially. A revived emerging laneway in Russell Place, growth of men’s retailing, niche bookstores and sustainable retail.
Chapter 3: Marketing and city activation
The report features the following programs including: L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival; Melbourne Spring Fashion Week; State of Design; Look.Stop.Shop. retail initiative; The Great Melbourne Treasure Hunt; City of Melbourne’s seasonal campaigns; Tourism Victoria’s Play campaign and targeted business initiatives including Small Enterprise and Micro Business Startegy.
Chapter 4: Facts and Statistics for 2010–11
Retail is a significant and growing industry for the world’s most liveable city (2011 Economist Liveability Index). We have more than 788,000 daily city users and more than 363,000 late night city users experiencing the city.
By shop front, clothing and soft goods retailers (47 per cent), hospitality (20 per cent) and services (13 per cent) dominate the CBD core. Of the 516 shops surveyed at Docklands, retail tenancy mix comprised clothing and soft goods (37 per cent), followed by hospitality (27 per cent). Similarly, clothing and soft goods (52 per cent) and hospitality (23 per cent) also dominated at Southbank across the 251 shops.
In this chaper, the strategy objectives are set out in a chart with page references that indicate where that particular objective has been addressed in the Year Five report.