St Collins Lane opens in May, set to rival Emporium

Move over Emporium, St Collins Lane is about to arrive.

Melbourne's latest luxury retail mall stretching between Little Collins and Collins streets is on track to open early in May with more than 70 per cent of tenants locked in, say the centre's owners and developers, Lasalle Investment Management.

An artist's impression of the St Collins Lane redevelopment.

Among the slew of first-time-in-Australia brands taking floorspace in the $30 million refurbishment of the former Australia On Collins building are lingerie brand L'Agent and fashion retailers Kooples​ and Zadig & Voltaire.

Other big-name offshore retailers to sign-up include Sandro​ and Maje, Folli Follie and REISS, who will trade alongside Coach, TAG Heuer and Furla.

Lasalle began work on the St Collins project in October 2014.

The centre's imminent arrival follows two years of major upheaval in the city's retail sector with the opening of Melbourne Emporium and an influx of high-powered international brands, among them Swedish clothing giant H&M and cosmetics queen Sephora, keen to establish a local foothold.

Not to be outdone, upmarket local retailers MJ Bale, Cue, Godwin Charli​ and DECLIC will also establish a presence.

"We're really happy with the schedule and the product we're creating," said Lasalle regional director Simon Howard. "It's really starting to come together."

Mr Howard said some retailers were now on site fitting out stores, although the bulk of the 60-odd new tenants were likely to finalise fitouts just prior to opening.

Trade across the city's retail sector was "robust and fairly steady," he said.

"It depends on which tenant you're talking to. Some had a great Christmas, some didn't."

St Collins Lane, at the city's southern end, along with the Emporium and Melbourne Central will form part of what has become Melbourne's largest retail hub, a spine of stores running north and south from Flinders Street Station to Melbourne Central.

"It's really made that area between Elizabeth and Swanston streets the major retail precinct in the CBD. That's good for everyone ...[and it] makes it a really viable retail offering that will compete with Chadstone and Doncaster out in the suburbs," Mr Howard said.

The centre had attracted many new international brands to Australia, said CBRE leasing agent Zelman Ainsworth, who negotiated the deals with colleague Leif Olsen.

"It's a perfectly located premium retail laneway that will service growing numbers of Collins Street office workers, tourists and residents," he said.