KEY POINTS:
Once there was a discount shop, but from Wednesday, when Italian fashion label Gucci opens the doors to its largest Australasian store, there will be a luxury emporium.
And there's more of the same to come - all of which could turn the lower end of Queen
St into a luxury shopping precinct of international standards.
Around the end of May another top brand, Louis Vuitton, plans to open its new store next to the 300sq m Gucci boutique.
A little further down the road, and about three months later, a luxury watch store is to open at the end of Queen's Arcade.
As well, three more big-name luxury brands - Chanel, Prada and Tiffany - are also believed to have also been looking for space to set up in the same neighbourhood, as is computer giant Apple, another firm renowned for its glamorous, high-tech stores.
Though they've all apparently been scouting for the right inner-city real estate for some time, none of the brands would confirm or deny that they're looking for retail space in Auckland.
But ask real estate consultant Georgie Clatworthy whether Auckland is developing its own miniature luxury shopping precinct, similar to Sydney's Castlereagh St or even New York's Fifth Avenue and she says the potential is definitely there.
Ms Clatworthy is the director of Match Realty, the Parnell boutique property consultancy and retail specialist that acted as an agent for the 48 Queen St property where the new Gucci store will be housed.
"There will be 20m of frontage in that block," she says. "So it could start to evolve into a luxury precinct."
Ms Clatworthy believes this will have a significant effect on how that section of Queen St is seen.
"And there's often a domino effect," she says, referring to luxury brands preferring to cluster together.
"Context is very important for these brands. They like good, heritage buildings and they need footprints that are big enough to service the sorts of retail environments they require - they need quite big spaces.
" In that sense Britomart is a fantastic opportunity to harness some of the other interest we've had."
And, she says, her company is talking to other luxury brands about taking Britomart space.
But even if international luxury brands do decide to open up shop in and around lower Queen St, it could be several years before there is any real action.
Gucci had apparently been looking for the right inner-city site for about three years and Helen Koo, managing director for Gucci Australia and New Zealand, says preparations for Wednesday's opening began more than 18 months ago.
"Finding the right location was extremely important and we were fortunate to secure a prime position on Queen St," Ms Koo said.
"Auckland is a cosmopolitan city with a unique character and a lively energy. We believe lower Queen St will develop into a luxury shopping precinct and destination."
Then again, lower Queen St has always been a luxury shopping destination of some sort.
Louis Vuitton is moving from its former premises at 56 Queen St - it has occupied the space for 16 years - into the larger store.
And several luxury brands, including Gucci, have mini-boutiques inside the DFS Galleria complex in the Customhouse building.
Why they would choose 2008 as the year to move into larger, free-standing flagship stores and in effect, starting establishing an Auckland luxury precinct is another question altogether.
And it is made an even more interesting question by the possibility that a recession is looming.
International reports quote Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH, the French parent company which owns Louis Vuitton, as claiming that spending on luxury goods will continue to rise around the world.
He also predicts that a lot of that growth will be due to demand in emerging markets.
Ms Koo says: "Last year was another record-breaking year for Gucci globally and the business continues to grow. While there are economical challenges ahead, there will always be a desire for the latest trends and fashion."
She says the time is right for Gucci in Auckland because "the market represents a tremendous opportunity and we had been looking for the right location and environment to showcase the brand for some time".
Louis Vuitton New Zealand's general manager, Mark Browne, says that despite gloomy economic forecasts, "our business continues to grow at a robust rate and we do not see any signs of consumers reducing their visits or spending".
He also give a more practical reason for the brand's move to a larger store - Louis Vuitton's current space has become too small to stock all the products the French brand now sells.
Ms Clatworthy thinks it's simply a matter of right time, right retail space.
"Those luxury brands have a big drive for global expansion, they've dipped their toe in the market in DFS, the Australasian market seems to be doing well for them and their product ranges are expanding.
"So I think Auckland is just getting on their radar now."
The CEO of Auckland's Heart of the City, Alex Swney, agrees.
"All of those brands have presence in Sydney, Melbourne and either Brisbane or the Gold Coast - we're the next cab off the rank for them," he says.
The chief cheerleader for the central business district also points to a growing number of luxury hotels in the inner city, the increasing cruise ship tourism trade, the high pedestrian rate on Queen St and a "huge and ongoing commitment" to the central-city upgrade".
NEXT WEEK
Read Auckland City writer Bernard Orsman's three-part special on the transformation of Queen St.
