NATIONAL: Westfield Australia's footwear retailers have outperformed their fashion store counterparts in the three months to September 30.
Footwear sales were up 5.9 per cent on a comparable basis for the third quarter of the calendar year, compared to fashion sales which were up 3.8 per cent for the same period.
Footwear was Westfield Australia's third highest performing category in the three months to September 30, trailing cinemas (up 9.5 per cent) and retail services (up 8.1 per cent).
Total retail sales for Westfield's Australian operations were up 1.9 per cent on a comparable basis for the three months ending September 30.
Westfield group managing director Steven Lowy said the company's Australian and New Zealand centres had remained "incredibly resilient" throughout the economic slowdown of recent times, with 99.5 per cent of available space leased.
"Overall sales in Australia for the rolling twelve months totalled $21.4 billion, up 5.3 per cent, as a result of the resilient environment together with strong performances across the whole portfolio and in particular from developments completed in the last few years.
"The retail industry in Australia is in healthy shape," Lowy said.