Amart bosses reveal Bundall superstore to downsize in ‘customer friendly’ move

The bosses of a popular furniture business have revealed their surprise next move for its Gold Coast site of 35 years.

THE landmark Benowa superstore that for more than 35 years has housed Amart furniture is heading into a fresh new era but in smaller form.

The showroom, in a one-time skating rink building, is being shrunk by 20 per cent as part of a move by tenant the Amart Furniture chain to make it modern and more customer friendly.

Amart CEO Lee Chadwick yesterday said the modernisation move at the “tired old store” was part of a national program to create new-format stores.

They were stores that better utilised space and improved customer experience.

“Amart is a very different business to what it was five years ago,” said Mr Chadwick.

He said Amart had taken the modernisation path with more than half of its 67 stores, including one at Helensvale.

Amart at Bundall will shrink its holdings on the site by 20 per cent. Photo:Chris McCormack

“That store and the Benowa one are among our best performers – they’re in the top five in Australia.”

Customers of the Benowa store, in which the showroom will go from 3800sq m to 3000sq m, are expected to experience the new look by late November.

The store originally traded under the Super A-mart banner but today trades as Amart as part of a national re-branding by Amart Furniture owner Quadrant Private Equity.

The Ashmore Rd property is owned by John Van Lieshout, who started Super A-mart in 1970, sold out in 2006, and retained ownership of some of the properties.

Mr Van Lieshout yesterday said the Benowa outlet was one of the chain’s best stores during his ownership. “In fact, it had one of the highest turnovers in Australia for furniture stores. It had phenomenal turnover for every square metre of floor space.”

Mr Van Lieshout bought the property in 1985 for $2.055m in a distress sale.

He said it housed a functioning skating rink and was owned by an entity linked to Brian Maher.

(The late Mr Maher later went for a skate, serving jail time after being convicted over bottom-of-the-harbour tax schemes).

Mr Van Lieshout said that on the day the rink building purchase settled he took his head office staff to Benowa.

“We all put skates on, had a few beers and had a wonderful time.”

The rink was built in 1983 on a 5546sq m site with frontages to Ashmore Road and Showcase Court and neighbours the Benowa Tavern.

Moves are afoot by Southport Park shopping centre owner Mr Van Lieshout’s ’s JVL group to lease areas of 800 and 1290sq m in the building.