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Inside Sydney’s abandoned Brands on Sale Factory Outlet Centre in Campbelltown

An urban explorer has exposed what lurks inside a failed shopping centre in Sydney’s west that was abandoned and left to rot a decade ago.

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This was, for a brief moment in time, a bustling shopping centre packed with retail outlets over multiple floors – until it spectacularly failed and was left to rot a decade ago.

Now, an urban explorer has taken his camera inside the eerie remains of the four-storey property that still sits empty and abandoned on busy Queen Street in Campbelltown, southwest Sydney.

A TikTok video reveals dismantled furniture and product displays, shattered windows, piles of abandoned stock and sale signs stuck in a time warp inside the Brands on Sale factory outlet centre.

One shot shows brand new shoes with price tags strewn across the shop floor and another shows tall stacks of boxes branded with electronics company Belkin.

In another shot, lifts in pristine condition stand eerily still, having not seen a customer in over a decade.

The Brands on Sale factory outlet shut down just a year after opening.
The Brands on Sale factory outlet shut down just a year after opening.

The centre has been virtually untouched since it closed in 2010 when Brands on Sale went into receivership amid trading difficulties.

The $65 million centre had only been open for one year, offering 80 stores over two levels, a food court and hundreds of parking spaces.

Inside the abandoned shopping centre in Campbelltown, southwest Sydney. Picture: @chris.grima
Inside the abandoned shopping centre in Campbelltown, southwest Sydney. Picture: @chris.grima
The centre hasn’t seen a shopper in over a decade. Picture: @chris.grima
The centre hasn’t seen a shopper in over a decade. Picture: @chris.grima

But it struggled to secure long-term shop leases.

In 2019 Campbelltown Council endorsed a masterplan to build six towering buildings in a $120 million revamp of the abandoned site.

The mega-project would see the site transformed into a bustling precinct that included more that 400 apartments, retail space and an “eat street” featuring cafes and restaurants.

Piles of unsold stock. Picture: @chris.grima
Piles of unsold stock. Picture: @chris.grima
Product displays have been dismantled. Picture: @chris.grima
Product displays have been dismantled. Picture: @chris.grima

Meanwhile on TikTok, the video attracted comments from locals who reminisced about the outlet centre during its fleeting time in operation.

“Woah I used to come here all the time,” someone said.

A concept design for six towers to be built at the site of the Brands on Sale centre.
A concept design for six towers to be built at the site of the Brands on Sale centre.

“I loved this place, so chilled to shop at, last time I was there was like 2011,” another wrote.

“I went to school right next to this place and we believed it was haunted even before it shut down,” another person commented.

“I used to go to the outlets there,” someone else said. “I miss Campbelltown and its eeriness sometimes.”

Read related topics:SydneyTikTok

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/travel-stories/inside-sydneys-abandoned-brands-on-sale-factory-outlet-centre-in-campbelltown/news-story/89fbb008315f50fd3cdde7f900412275