Competition from international brands in Australia has coincided with over 10,000 retail closures over the past five years.
A further 1.2 million square metres of retail space could be sought by international retailers over the next five years.
Those are the revelations in a new report by property firm CBRE.
With low international brand penetration rates in Australia relative to other developed nations, CBRE expects brand entry over the next three to five years to continue but at a slower pace than the past two years.
Uniqlo, ZARA, TK Maxx and H&M will be among existing brands to execute rollout plans into other cities.
By retailer type, fashion brands have been most aggressive in expanding, accounting for 70% of total retailers which have entered Australia since 2012.
Within fashion, luxury and business retailers are the largest (41%) category to enter, followed by mid-range fashion (12%) and value and denim (12%).
Between 2012 to 2016, there were 139 new retail entrants into Australian cities.
On a per capita basis, Australia has ranked as one of the retail hotspots over the past half-decade.
Australia’s favourable macroeconomic conditions, rising GDP per capita, strong population growth and low international brand penetration rate (30%) relative to Singapore, Hong Kong and U.K. (all 45%+), are attractive attributes from an international retailers' perspective.