New stores freshen city centre

The new Topshop / Topman store on 203 Queen Street. Photo / Chris Gorman

Trendy shops breathe new life into Queen St as it becomes go-to destination.

Downtown Auckland is looking forward to a retail revival as a number of trendy fashion stores open.

As well as retailers entering the city centre, a range of hospitality ventures are also setting up shop as spending and foot traffic data indicates more people are spending more money in the area.

The highly anticipated arrival of Topshop and Topman on the corner of Queen and Customs Sts will happen soon, across the road from where luxury brands Christian Dior, Prada and Swarovski are preparing to open.

Further up Auckland's main street, shoe store Skechers has opened its doors, Hallensteins will open a flagship store next week and Cotton On opened its megastore in the old Farmer's building last month.

Just off Queen St on High St, menswear chain Barkers has opened a flagship store.

Barkers is part of the Top Retail team bringing Topshop and Topman to New Zealand, along with Kiwi fashion designer Karen Walker and Christchurch rich lister Philip Carter. Also on the renowned retail strip footwear label Camper opened its New Zealand flagship store and Overland's male-centred Merchant Man has also set up shop.

Inner city business association Heart of the City commissioned a report from Marketview Ltd which analysed BNZ and Paymark figures to reveal spending in the area was up 16.6 per cent in the September quarter compared to the same period last year.

When converted to a dollar value, that was $333.5 million spent by shoppers compared to $286.1 million the previous year.

Foot traffic counts into the inner city area were up 5 per cent for the quarter compared to the same time last year, from just over 722,000 to more than 758,000 people.

Association centre manager Tania Loveridge said it was an exciting time for the city.

"There have been or planned to be a number of high-profile openings and refurbishments/extensions into flagship stores on Queen St and surrounding areas - not just retail but hospitality too," she said.

"There is an energy and belief in the city. The investment that has been made in public spaces, the upgrades to the streets, has contributed to the further private investment."

The move to unique, higher-end brands was also attractive for consumers, she said.

"What we are seeing is a move towards a higher quality offering " and there is a sense of Queen St developing into a cohesive retail offering."

Retail NZ chief executive Mark Johnson said retail in the city was developing quickly.

"We're probably seeing more rapid change now as the CBD becomes more of a 'go-to' shopping and hospitality destination," he said. "That's partly driven by increased intensification, courtesy of development projects like Britomart, and new high profile retailers."

Looking ahead, the Precinct Properties' redevelopment of its Downtown Shopping Centre would add further retail power to the central area of the city.