It’s not the end of boutique shopping strips in Melbourne, according to a recent survey by Savills Australia.
The Spotlight on Melbourne Suburban Street Retail survey revealed that Australia’s street front shop capital is withstanding the challenges faced by corporate-ran shopping centres as they have started “to re-think their offerings and have aggressively started to renegotiate their rents”.
According to the research, while Melbourne’s shopping strips that were surveyed overall vacancy rate has risen to 6 per cent, eight out of the ten prime streets vacancy of around only 3 per cent.
The survey found that clothing retailers (31 per cent), restaurant and food outlets (24 per cent) and service retailers (22 per cent) dominate the metropolitan street shopping landscape.
The retail strips surveyed were Bridge Road (Richmond), Burke Road (Camberwell), Centre Road (Bentleigh), Chapel Street (Windsor/Prahran/South Yarra), Church Street (Brighton), Glenferrie Road (Hawthorn), High Street (Armadale), Puckle Street (Moonee Ponds), Toorak Road (Toorak) and Toorak Road (South Yarra).
It was also highlighted that the strong population growth combined with an affluent population continues to provide street retailers with opportunities.