From underperformer to western suburbs shopping star
After years of failed redevelopment attempts, Pacific Werribee in Hoppers Crossing has finally received the revitilisation it has longed for.
From a ‘very dated, old and small’ sub-regional shopping centre, the complex has been reimagined and is finally seeing a decent return, according to RetPro managing director Graham
Terry, who founded the retail property service provider.
“Retpro became involved once we convinced the owner to spend $400 million on a new retail design layout and acquire new leasing,” he said.
“We very successfully converted a severely underperforming centre to a high-class well-trading regional shopping centre.”
Characterised by wide sunlit malls, natural materials and marble stone floors, the complex is located in Melbourne’s west. It almost tripled its annual sales from $250 million to $700 million,
taking the net operating income from $28 million to an exceptional $50 million.
The two-year program has been recognised in the industry as a ‘stand-out success’ compared to other developments across the country, as the standing $250 million in asset value was
converted to an impressive $1.3 billion.
While the redevelopment required no extra land to service the expansion, it underwent extensive growth from 72,000sq m to 110,000sq m. It now features more than 270 stores, up
more than 120 retailers than it originally housed, and offers over 1500 new car spaces.
Much-loved local retailers such as MYER and Target were introduced, alongside international brands including Uniqlo, TK Maxx and H&M.
The region’s demographics had experienced ‘incredible growth’, according to Mr Terry.
“The area kept growing, so the centre’s redevelopment responded to the changing demographics and provided for increasing customer demand.”
In response to consumer feedback, a number of retailers were replaced with higher quality vendors.
“Redeveloping a number of diverse centres has given us great knowledge of which retailers suit different demographics and a variety of trade areas, so we have acted on this, and the response
has been overwhelming,” Mr Terry said.
The City of Wyndham is one of the highest growth corridors in Victoria, according to Pacific Centres’ Chief Operating Officer Daniel Radle.
“We want to ensure that we are delivering on customer convenience and have everything under one roof,” he said.
“We believe that our new Fresh Food precinct does just that as it enables customers to purchase all household goods, whether it’s a full weekly shop for the family, a quick top-up or
your favourite gourmet treats.”
After an expansive renovation, the restaurant precinct has been dubbed a major drawcard for the destination, along with the reinvigorated entertainment space which features two Gold Class
cinemas and a street of ‘Urban Diner’. This will continue to be expanded in future developments.
After 12 months of planning and a two-year project, RetPro successfully tripled the centre’s foot traffic and gave the local hub a new lease on life.
