More experiences, more security: The future of Westfield Bondi Junction

From eating out to working out, Westfield Bondi Junction is being transformed into a destination for dining, exercise and entertainment as well as shopping.

A new social wellness club and interactive sports store will take over the space currently occupied by the David Jones Food Hall, with plans to create a high-end dining and entertainment precinct on level six of the shopping centre.

Operating group Scentre’s chief executive Elliott Rusanow said Westfield shopping centres were also “potentially part of the solution” for housing as the Minns government pushes for more infill development in inner-city Sydney.

Scentre Group chief executive Elliott Rusanow at Westfield Bondi Junction.Credit: Edwina Pickles

In an exclusive interview with this masthead, Rusanow said he believed most people would prefer apartments built above the shopping centre instead of nearby suburbs such as Bellevue Hill, Bondi and Edgecliff.

“We have strategic landholdings around many of our Westfield destinations that are in major population growth areas, adjacent to public transport hubs and where other major infrastructure is already built,” he said.

“In conjunction with relevant planning reforms, we think we are part of, certainly, the conversation, and potentially part of the solution of where people could live in the future.”

Westfield Bondi Junction will be given a makeover in the short term, with Virgin Active and Rebel Sport taking over space on level one currently occupied by David Jones.

Shoppers at Westfield Bondi Junction.Credit: Peter Rae

Rusanow said the social wellness club was an example of the innovative retail trends and experiences that Scentre wanted to bring to Westfield Bondi Junction.

“An elevated health and fitness experience is something our customers have continued to ask us for, and we’re excited to be able to bring this to fruition,” he said.

Virgin Active Group chief executive Dean Kowarski said the club was designed to transcend the traditional fitness club proposition with “beautiful spaces that blend movement, wellness, nourishment, work and social interaction”.

Sporting goods retailer Rebel will bring its rCX format to Westfield Bondi Junction, with customers encouraged to test products and equipment in “physical experience zones” such as half-court basketball, indoor football pitches and sports gaming consoles.

Level six of the shopping centre, where Fitness First is currently situated, will be transformed into a high-end dining and entertainment precinct, with more luxury retail outlets opening on level four.

The plans for Bondi Junction come less than three months after the knife attack at the mall in which six people were killed.

Scentre last month reported an increase in foot traffic across its shopping centres despite the horrific incident and higher interest rates constraining household spending.

Rusanow described the knife attack as “devastating” and said Scentre was providing support, including financial assistance, to the families of victims, including security guard Faraz Tahir.

New security measures rolled out following the attack include an increased presence of security staff wearing high-visibility vests.

“What you’ll see is that there’ll be an increased use of technology as part of creating an effective, secure environment, including through the use of CCTV,” he said. “We’ve also, in a way, led change by rolling out vests for all our security staff,” Rusanow said.

‘Experiential retailing’

Rusanow said the changes to the retail space were part of a shift towards more experiential retailing, which has seen other shopping centres– such as Westfield Knox in suburban Melbourne – host a childcare centre, public library, swim school, basketball court and axe-throwing bar.

Westfield Eastgardens in Sydney’s eastern suburbs is also earmarked for redevelopment to become a “mixed-use town centre”, prompting fears it will decimate nearby shopping strips.

Westfield Bondi Junction recorded $1.15 billion in retail sales, according to Scentre Group’s 2022 Property Compendium, and the highest spending per capita of any Westfield shopping centre in Australia and New Zealand.

Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Prada are among its luxury retailers, but dining, fitness, entertainment, health and beauty services are a growing proportion of the mall’s retail offering.

“About 45 per cent of the stores across our portfolio are experience-based, things that can only be consumed on-site,” Rusanow said.

Scentre has also offered free entertainment at Westfield, with appearances by Jessica Mauboy, Kate Ceberano and Amy Shark in the past year, and Star Wars experiences such as lightsaber training, craft activities and immersive video tours.

Rusanow wants Westfield customers to have a premium experience that surpasses their expectations and that requires reinvestment.

He is also keen on more activities inside the shopping centre at night, which could include tenpin bowling, arcade games, indoor golf, and live events.

“What we’re trying to strive for is a place where people, from all different demographics, can feel confident and comfortable to come and spend time at,” he said.

Rusanow draws on more than two decades of experience, working for Westfield since 1999, including a stint as the corporation’s chief financial officer in the United States.

Bondi Junction is his local shopping centre where he and his family go to the cinema and the gym and shop for groceries – and seemingly many friends and family do so as well, judging from the number of people who stop to greet him.

Two of his sons also work in the shopping centre, and all four children hang out in the mall in much the same way that Rusanow says he did as a teenager in what used to be the Bondi Junction Plaza.