Croissants, champagne and city chaos: Mecca’s Bourke St megastore opens in style
After four years of planning, Mecca has opened its flagship megastore on Melbourne’s Bourke St — and a massive crowd turned out for the event.
After years of anticipation and more than four years in building, Australian beauty retailer Mecca has finally opened her perfumed, moisturised and manicured arms in Bourke St Mall for everyone to get their beauty on, or in founder and chief executive office Jo Horgan’s words: “give you all the feels”.
Lines weaved down Bourke St on Friday morning to see the Willa Wonka factory of beauty and wellbeing in what is hailed as Melbourne’s new landmark destination and new benchmark for Australian retailers.
From champagne and croissants, to cosmetics and CBD and perfume, here’s the rundown on the new Mecca.
Doors to the three-level Mecca flagship officially opened on Friday from 9am in the beating heart of Melbourne’s Central Business District.
Tram services closed along Bourke St from 7am to 11am between Russell and Queen streets to accommodate the huge crowds.
Lord Mayor Nick Reese spruiked what is the biggest beauty retailer in the southern hemisphere with crowds and excitement down Bourke St Mall we haven’t seen since the Myer Christmas windows heyday of yesteryear.
“It will be the most mega opening on Bourke St since Myer opened 100 years ago,” said Reece, who will be there to officially open the 4000 sqm flagship on Friday morning.
World class
With bricks and mortar shopping on the decline and many CBD department stores losing a bit of their sparkle, Horgan has gone in for the glow up.
She wants to draw beauty shoppers from here and around the world, with the plush and luxurious megastore giving off a fragrance of iconic UK department stores like Selfridges and Harrods.
Think a cafe serving Pommery champagne, caviar and Melbourne’s most sought after croissants from Kate Reid’s legendary Lune bakery on the third floor, to blooming floral arrangements from if-you-know-you-know Flowers Vasette. Customers are greeted with a rainbow colour palette of orchids and roses on the ground floor with the florist perched in the rear with the apothecary (more of that later).
At the entrance there is a large bronze cloud-shaped concierge desk that will be staffed by up to six people — to give shoppers directions and answer questions — and the Mecca News Room, a 91 sqm space with a large digital installation that will deliver a steady stream of beauty content.
The multimillion-dollar fit-out, which includes artwork from leading Australian designers, including an impressive mosaic column by Melbourne contemporary artist Diena Georgetti,
blends Melbourne’s laneway culture with the heritage building’s seven-metre-high ceiling exposed and Art Deco glamour and tiled chequerboard floors.
“It doesn’t take space to sell beauty. It takes space — and a lot of it — to experience beauty as we push into the blue zone of experiential beauty,” said Horgan at the sneak peak reveal this week.
“We want it to be just as synonymous with Melbourne as the National Gallery of Victoria or the Australian Football League.”
Zone out
Each category “zone” will have both brands and services; in skin care, those will range from consultations to semi-private cabins with no downtime treatments, such as microdermabrasion or a deep cleanse facial, with the service cost redeemable in product.
Perfumeria
Divided into two key zones, both staffed by “scent sommeliers” fragrance is Mecca’s fastest-growing category.
Think more than 1800 sq m devoted to scents, with Horgan saying brides — or those wanting to feel like a “girl boss” — can personally craft their own scent.
A fragrance bar, complete with stools where customers can have an in-depth consultation, as well as the Scent-Sorium, a large table with diffusers that pop out and emit scent at the press of a button is a surprise standout.
Melbourne beauty influencer Gem Diamond told the Herald Sun the perfumeria was her top tip from the megastore, “although it might put me out of a job,” she laughs “it does all the work for you.”
The fragrance brands include Diptyque, Byredo, Perfumer H, Dries Van Noten, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Editions de Parfum Frédéric Malle, Maison Crivelli and Officine Universelle Buly. Emerging brands include Arpa, BornToStandOut, To My Ships and Control & Chaos.
Big brands
The “engine room” of Mecca, occupies the right side with all the make up a girl can dream of. A showy glossy stand beckons all the “dah-lings” for Charlotte Tilbury with other emerging brands like Violette_FR and Isamaya perched with established players including Nars, Glossier, Westman Atelier and the house brand Mecca Max. Services, ranging from makeup and lash applications to lessons, will be on offer at an 18-seat artistry studio, and are also redeemable in products.
Key brands include Tatcha, Elemis, Korres, Youth to the People, Dr. Dennis Gross, Osea, Omorovicza, Mecca Cosmetica and Shiseido. Augustinus Bader, Dr. Barbara Sturm and Biologique Recherché will also be merchandised here, as well as in the skin spa upstairs.
Apothecary
In the rear of the ground floor sits the apothecary and florist. The apothecary is a new concept for Mecca says Horgan and will offer holistic wellness through brands, services, and solutions, featuring 10 new services including a full-time naturopath. It is the wellness point of the store focusing on six key need states that impact overall wellbeing – sleep, calm, sensitised skin, rituals, cycles of life, and the gut. From crystals to Oura rings, brands include Aman, Bamford, Flamingo Estate, Kit, Mutha, The Nue Co. and Nopalera.
Everything from ear seeding to acupuncture to breath coaching and other alternate service ares on offer; prices range from $45 for traditional Chinese facial mapping to $195 for a one-on-one coaching session.
Atelier
Where all the influencers and beauty queens were lining up, the big hitter here is getting your hair, makeup and nails done at the same time for less than 90 minutes.
Makeup applications will start at $200 with products redeemable. Melbourne’s trendy nail art studio, Trophy Wife Nails, will be overseeing nail services here and has its own dedicated.
Maria Tash piercing, where you can design your own jewellery and get your ear pierced is adjacent to fragrance, which flows into Josh Wood Hair, where salon services will start at $50 for a blowy from the UK colourist who has looked after the tresses of everyone from Kylie Minogue to David Bowie.
“I took my parents through the building and said, ‘This is mad,’” Horgan said.
“My Dad said, yes, but you have to do mad, because everything else has been done.”
Originally published as Croissants, champagne and city chaos: Mecca’s Bourke St megastore opens in style
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