Westfield Chermside defies retail gloom and cracks $1 billion in annual turnover for the first time

Queensland’s largest shopping centre has defied the retail gloom and broken through the $1 billion turnover barrier for the first time.

Westfield Chermside cracked $1 billion in annual turnover for the first time in 2018. Picture AAP/David Clark

QUEENSLAND’S largest shopping centre has defied the retail gloom and broken through the $1 billion turnover barrier for the first time.

Last year Westfield Chermside recorded $1.025 billion in moving turnover, up 10.2 per cent on the previous 12 months, according to a Shopping Centre News (SCN) survey.

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Owned and operated by Scentre Group the shopping centre moved from 8th to 5th place on the survey, boosted by the completion of a multimillion-dollar redevelopment that added almost 100 new stores to the retail mix, including Brisbane’s first Sephora, H&M, Zara, Uniqlo and a host of other local and international brands.

A new leisure and dining precinct, set in a resort-style landscape, features a selection of boutique cafes and al fresco restaurants ensured the “destination status” of one of Australia’s oldest shopping centres.

Westfield Chermside has broken the $1 billion turnover barrier.

Scentre Group chief operating officer Greg Miles said “retail is strong, vibrant and growing”.

“We completed a $355 million redevelopment of Westfield Chermside in 2017, transforming the centre into the premium leisure destination for Brisbane’s north,” he said.

“The strength of these results confirms that our efforts to curate a tailored mix of retail, consume-on-site, and experience offers that meet our customers’ expectations is what sets us apart.”

SCN’s Big Guns survey lists 98 shopping centres with a gross lettable area of more than 50,000sq m. Other Queensland shopping centres on the top 20 list were Westfield Carindale ($896m) in ninth place, Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast 10th ($885m) and Westfield Garden City 15th ($797.9m)

According to Big Guns, Chadstone in Melbourne, became the first centre in the country to reach the $2 billion mark, 10 years after it became the first to achieve the $1 billion milestone.

Kasey Mooney and Ben Waite of Chermside enjoy the new Westfield Chermside Extension. Picture: AAP

SCN publisher Michael Lloyd said while it has been described as a horror year for bricks and mortar retail many shopping centres have performed remarkably well.

“Our shopping centres are more than just places for buying stuff. They’re community focal points, places of social interaction,” he said.

“They’re integral parts of our community infrastructure and we develop, lease, manage and market them in line with that definition.

“As such, they are, more than any other entity, totally reflective of the performance of the nation as a whole, its economic success and its future.”