Chadstone shopping mall in Melbourne’s south-east, jointly owned by John Gandel and Vicinity Centres, clocked up almost $2.7 billion in annual sales last year, 16 per cent better than it was doing before the pandemic and more than double its nearest rival.

Chadstone’s success, along with that of other major malls including Westfield centres – which account for seven in the top 10 of the biggest earning malls – is indicative of the sector’s rebound from the lockdown years and its resilience amid cost-of-living pressures, industry players say.