PERTH: Western Australian fashion brands face a tough time securing retail space in the state with planned extensions to 12 centres now put on ice.
Figures released by the Property Council of WA and Lease Equity show that almost 51,000 square metres of work has been postponed indefinately.
The majority of the halted work was in shopping centres near Mandurah and Kwinana.
Jones Lang LaSalle senior research analyst Andrew Bouhlas told The West Australian only projects already under construction would deliver retail floor space.
"No new construction is expected to be announced in the current market. Owners and developers will be vigilant in their decision making and will wait for a continued positive outlook before committing to anything."
The newspaper report also quoted Shopping Centre Council of Australia executive director Milton Cockburn who said shopping centres anchored by supermarkets appeared to be riding out the downturn better than others.
This was because discretionary spending, such as men's fashion, was down and non-discretionary spending was holding.
"The larger shopping centres tend to get hit most because they have a lot of specialty stores in discretionary areas."
The news follows the announcement this year's Perth Fashion Festival will be shortened by four days while desigenrs brace for a slow season as a result of the global economic crisis.
Labels that showed at last year's instalment included Wheels and Doll Baby, Liz Davenport, Morrison, Megan Salmon and Antipodium.