When Apple opened its flagship Sydney store in George Street in 2008 fans clogged the pavement causing chaos. Its main Melbourne store is in Chadstone, Australia’s largest shopping centre.

The Mall, the city’s main pedestrian shopping thoroughfare, has taken a battering after two years of pandemic lockdowns drove shoppers and city workers out of the city centre precipitating a severe slump in foot traffic, the main source of retailers’ income.

As a result, a swathe of well-known names who occupy key tenancies in the Mall are on the move.

Stores occupied by crystal jeweller Swarovski and beauty retailer Body Shop are already empty and Pandora, Footlocker, Windsor Smith, Factorie and Supre are also likely to vacate soon, industry sources say.

The lure of shoppers flocking to Bourke Street made it the location of choice for well-resourced international fast fashion brands H&M and Zara when they first hit Australia’s shores. They haven’t budged since.

Ginnane Associates retail consultant Martin Ginnane said the change in tenancies underway in the Mall is being accelerated by the pandemic, but it would have come anyway.

It’s the next cycle that’s kicking off. Bourke Street Mall hasn’t reinvented itself for years.

Ginnane Associates retail consultant Martin Ginnane

“It’s the next cycle that’s kicking off. Bourke Street Mall hasn’t reinvented itself for years. It has stayed pretty stagnant,” he said. “There’s a lot of pain being felt at the moment, but out of the pain will come a lot of change.”

The Mall’s rejuvenation is already in train.

A major redevelopment of The Walk arcade, now under construction directly opposite Myer’s department store, will add a 453-room dual-branded hotel to a mix of new shopfronts that will stretch between Bourke and Little Collins streets.

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Property fund manager Newmark Capital has signed beauty retailer Mecca as a flagship tenant to take over the David Jones Menswear store after purchasing the building for $121 million from the department store’s South African owner in the middle of the pandemic.

Newmark’s $22.55 million renovation will add three rooftop terraces for office tenants across five upper floors and a 2245 square metre supermarket in the basement.

Centrepoint has indicated it may also add a major overhaul of its building to the mix.

Mr Hopp said the group was monitoring developments in the Mall. “We do have the intent of seeking new tenants through a redevelopment. We might be the next cab off the rank,” he said.

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