Low retail stocks mean Melbourne rocks

The comparatively low cost of retail property in Melbourne has been cited as one reason behind the city's growing allure for fashion shoppers.
Melbourne's attraction as a destination for interstates shoppers is on the rise, with Sydneysiders ditching their city in favour of Victoria's capital, say statistics from Tourism Victoria.
They reveal that in the year to March 2005 more than 449,000 Sydneysiders travelled to Melbourne to shop, marking a 12 per cent increase on the previous year.
In addition 49 per cent of NSW residents said Melbourne was Australia's best shopping destination, while 36 per cent claimed the title for Sydney.
Lower retail property costs in Melbourne allowed for a more diverse retail mix that included independent single outlet boutiques, said Sydney shoemaker Andrew McDonald.
By contrast, "The rent people have to shell out in order to be in Oxford Street [Sydney] has meant that chain stores are the only ones [who can afford to be] there," he said.
Melbourne-based retail and fashion expert Robert Buckingham said the city's strength lay in its choice of specialty and fashion boutiques.
"The very successful boutiques relate and connect with a local audience," he said, citing high-end retail brand Scanlon & Theodore as "a quintessentially Melbourne brand".
John O'Neill, executive director and general manager of Tourism New South Wales said the difference in Sydneysiders travelling to Melbourne per capita for shopping and vice versa was minimal.
"Rivalry is healthy and while Sydneysiders might travel to Melbourne to go shopping, Melbournians are also travelling to Sydney for its fashion retail experience," he said.
While Melbourne's star is rising among interstate shoppers, Melbourne City Council has also embarked on a strategy to groom the city for international stardom.
Acting Lord Mayor of Melbourne Gary Singer confirmed the strategy was initiated earlier this year in collaboration with London-based branding solutions company Future Laboratory (for which Robert Buckingham acts as a consultant).
The project - the preliminary results of which will be released next April - would audit Melbourne against world-class retail centres, he said.
The retail strategy would ultimately "leverage Melbourne's future retail opportunities from its current strengths of architecture, heritage, design innovation, international events, ambience and precincts," he said.