Luxury brands take a shine to us

While there has been much talk of the downturn in the retail sector, the luxury sector in Australia­ remains defiant.

Ellie Brinkman shows off the $2 million Cracked Ice pieces from the Tiffany collection at the new flagship store in Sydney. Picture: Hollie Adams

Step inside the new Tiffany & Co flagship store in Sydney and any notion of Australia’s retail malaise­ slips away amid sparkling diamonds and precious stones — and a glimpse of the priceless yellow­ Tiffany diamond, which has made a special journey for the occasion.

While there has been much talk of the downturn in the retail sector, especially with the closure of a number of more mainstream brands, the luxury sector in Australia­ remains defiant, with international brands making serious­ investments here.

Independent luxury consultant Melinda O’Rourke believes this is set to continue for the next four to five years.

“There’s quite a lot going on,” Ms O’Rourke told The Australian. “Valentino has just opened, Balenci­aga is set to open in Westfield, and we’ve just had the opening last year of Loewe and Moncler, and there’s also the refurbish­ment of Ferragamo.”

As to the reasons behind this growth, Ms O’Rourke believes one factor is Australia’s market stability, not just in terms of the economy and high disposable incomes­, but also politically and in terms of security.

“That gives brands a confid­ence in investment for the long term, and luxury brands are all about the long term,” she said.

For other retail sectors, things are not as rosy. Just this week, Big W announced the closure of 30 stores. Last year, Esprit closed its Australian operation, and Roger David ceased trading.

Other recent collapses include Marcs, David Lawrence and Oroton, all of which were bought and continue trading.

But the Tiffany & Co chief executive said yesterday the high-end jewellery market had established a firm foothold in Australia.

“It’s growing,” Alessandro Bogliol­i said of the company’s stake in the local market. “And we believe that, with the investment in this store, it will grow even more. Our expectation is to have this store in the top 10 in the world — and I’m sure it will (make it).”

Such is the belief in this market that, for the first time in Australia, the one-off high jewellery pieces, which can carry price tags into the millions of dollars, will be available on a permanent basis, with 40 to 50 pieces on show at any given time. At 1800sq m, the new store is almost three times the size of its former footprint.

Louis Vuitton is upgrading its George Street maison at a report­ed cost of $11 million and Hermes is planning to move to a larger space in the CBD, due to open early next year.