Luxury retailers are still riding high in Australia despite cost-of-living pressures, with upmarket handbags, jewellery and accessories in strong demand. But there are some signs that the rate of growth across the high-end sector is easing amid macroeconomic pressures. Scentre and Cbus Property are transforming David Jones’ old menswear store in Sydney into luxe retail and apartments.
The luxury goods market in Australia is projected to generate a revenue of $6.2 billion in 2024. This market is expected to have an annual growth rate of 3.
52 per cent in the next four years – that’s down from a rate of about 5 per cent in the post-COVID spending boom. Nonetheless, sales are being underpinned by international tourists, cashed-up Baby Boomers and even a growing number of Millennial and Gen Z consumers. As a result, leases are being signed across Sydney and Melbourne’s city zones by high-end brands, albeit at a steady pace.
A CBRE report on the sector reveals luxury retail trade in Australia reached a record $6.2 billion in 2023, with 483 retailers, including international and domestic brands, operating nationally. Leif Olson, CBRE’s head of retail investor services Australia, said Sydney remained a strategic city for luxury brands looking to enter the Australia and New Zealand region, and this has driven demand for “quality real estate”.
‘Mature luxury brands are looking for larger flagship premises to accommodate their sales and growth strategies.’ “Mature lu.