i wouldn’t say brisbane is full size. its big but not as big as surburban outlets. it si spread across 2 levels though
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The Progressive Supa IGA stores (formerly Action) have all closed or converted to other brands.
Supa Valu was a big name in WA for many years under FAL. There was also Dewsons, Foodland (later Eziway), Rules, Four Square, Bilo (different to the Coles Myer version), Newmart (Before Coles took over in 1996)
I am enjoying the current era of IGA in WA with a few boutique minor brands opening up such as Good Grocer and Naturally Fresh IGA.
Whitford City hasn’t had a great run in attracting a big name department store since Aherns closed in 1985.
I can remember in the 90’s they wanted to build a Harris Scarfe and expand the centre, but the plans got rejected. There was a minor expansion in 2003 and 2004 which saw Woolworths relocate.
David Jones was set to open a store in 2012, but then they backed out saying they were going to spend money upgrading Karrinyup.
Another minor upgrade occured in 2016 and 2017 with the opening of Event Cinemas and an outdoor dining area.
David Jones then announced in 2017 they were going to build a store as part of a 3 store deal with Westfield (Carousel, Innaloo and Whitford). Only Carousel opened.
The two centres in Perth that are serious need of an upgrade are Galleria and Whitford City.
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David Jones has all these grand plans and a history of blowing cash but looking at the last decade they have not made any money. I’m amazed Woolworths SA still own it.
I believe they tried to offload it last year but nobody wanted to buy it
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Yeah, I’ve dug deep into the troubling history of Whitford City. They have been trying to get a David Jones as far back as 2008. Was meant to open in 2012, 2015 and 2019, all with different plans, but nothing has happened. The redevelopment that featured the new cinema complex and dining was only meant to be Stage 1 though, with Stage 2 including the David Jones. All that was built was the Rebel store, but I’m sure the development application is somewhere.
What is the DJ’s at Mandurah like? Assume its one of the scaled down versions?
Speaking of DJ’s, the Highpoint store is terrible since it was shrunk to allow Kmart to move in. I don’t shop there a lot, but when I do need or want something, they rarely have it.
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Mandurah is only 4000sqm on one level. I would imagine Harris Scarfe and another mini major will swoop should they shut down.
Speaking of David Jones, I visited the Melbourne CBD store on my day off today, and noticed that the menswear department had now opened in the main store building. It is split between fourth and fifth floors (also shared with homeware, men’s shoes and travel goods). The toys section is now on the second floor on the Little Bourke Street side, right next to kidswear.
If and when Mandurah was to lose DJs, then that would be Cockburn’s gain given an expansion that is planned there.
I’m still convinced that CoJ rejected the most recent set of plans because they didn’t want a nearby competitor to Lakeside Joondalup, which brings people into the Joondalup CBD.
All things considered, Whitford City is hanging on pretty well considering it hasn’t had a major development in so long now. Occupancy is good, and despite some turnover with tenants the restaurant / cinema development still does really well (compared to the prior piazza, which was a constant failure).
I’d also suggest out of the Westfield portfolio, Booragoon is in more dire need of an upgrade than Whitford City. Whitford City is mostly at a consistent standard throughout the building, whereas parts of Booragoon are truly decrepit (having to go outside for the toilets in some areas of the building is insane) and falling apart. I’d say even Galleria is in better shape that Booragoon at this point.
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Both Galleria and Booragoon are at a severe stage, but I could at least say Booragoon feels more alive overall, even if Galleria shows better sides. If plans are still going ahead, I hope to see Booragoon get the facelift it needs. Doubt we’ll be seeing anything major with Galleria for a while.
And yeah, Whitford City is at a perfectly fine stage at the moment. Even if the centre falls down, the dining and cinema complex will still carry it. Westfield is open to the possibility of renovating all their “outdated” centres (Whitford City, Airport West, etc) with new surveys asking what you want to see in the future, if that will mean anything.
When I left the Success area in 2011 they must have done an addition since as I think they have Kmart (Target before ?) at Cockburn Gateway north of where the Comm Bank was. Traffic was terrible .
Is there another redevelopment planned with a cinema?
Yeah, a new Target (now Kmart) and several other stores opened up in 2014. Now I believe they are working on a new cinema, along with a new dining/entertainment precinct. The whole development is meant to take 20 years until it reaches its final product. Construction is estimated to start in either 2023 or 2024.
Is it still owned by Perron ?
Yeah still Perron.
It used to be a Target until it was renovated to a K-Mart after Target closed a bunch of its stores within the last 18 months.
It’s weird how Target has Target Country… there’s no Big W small versions? Big W seems massive compared to our now closed Target Country.
I went to a bigw in Echuca it seemed like a country version. Warehouse like roof and it was about half the size. It was actually a pretty dark and miserable sort of store.
The store in Atherton in North Queensland is similar.
My memory of Big W in the late 80’s early 90’s - specifically the Erina store anyway - had dark/black interior roofs. There was no false ceilings, just lights hanging down.
