Better to have the best than the rest

 

Who would’ve thought that a business which is committed to being Made In Australia could have so much in common with a business that specialises in everything Made Anywhere But Australia?

But there you have it, Cue Clothing Company and Robby Ingham are both rooting for the virtues of quality over quantity this year.

In around nine months time, the former will unveil a new flagship store at the Westfield redevelopment on Pitt Street, Sydney.

It is the only major retail project for Cue in 2010, following an aggressive rollout strategy which has seen it grow to over 215 stores nationally. But wait for it...

The flagship is only 100sqm internally. 100sqm?! Why then was Cue executive director Justin Levis sporting a smug grin when discussing the development plans? With good reason.

Anyone who has visited the Andew Boy Charlton Pool in Sydney will no doubt be familiar with the talents of Ed Lippman. After a tender process, the world renowned architect has now been commissioned to work on Cue’s “statement” Pitt Street store.

And no expense will be spared, according to Levis, who says a “grand, enormous” architectural feature will run along its entire double height shopfront.

Over at luxury retailer Robby

Ingham - which specialises in international designer fashion – there is also some hammering going on at its flagship development in Paddington, Sydney.

Founder Robby Ingham has consolidated his retail reach to just two adjoining men’s and women’s sites on Oxford Street, both thoroughly refitted, expanded and refurbished.

We all know luxury fashion took a battering post GFC –  so why continue to bleed money at your underperforming stores instead of dressing up your really good ones?

While construction on the men’s store is still underway, the final touches should be finalised by next month.

The store’s upper floor will have an overhead skywell that bathes the area in a natural light, acting as a showroom for designer suiting.

Meanwhile, downstairs has already been fitted out with a t-shirt bar and a special denim realm. Ingham also mentioned some striking designer wallpaper and carpeting options for both stores.

The va-va-voom factor however, is the walkway adjoining the two sites, which features a lush mezzanine of designated fitting rooms.

This small but mighty approach seems to be catching on. Read all about Tony Bianco’s first flagship on page four.