Centre touted as first of its kind

MELBOURNE: Initial stages of a sweeping re-vamp at Westfield Doncaster opened this month, in a move claimed to set new direction in suburban shopping centre design. Westfield Doncaster's youth and streetwear precinct officially opened on June 19 with an array of boutiques showcasing on-trend fashions, as centre manager Rachele Godridge confirmed.

"The precinct has some great streetwear labels like That Store, Hemisphere, Ed Hardy, Dangerfield, Edge Clothing, Glue, Gripp Jeans, Mossimo, Ozmosis, T Bar, Pepe Jeans London, Adidas, Nike Zelus and Speedo," she said.
The development of architecturally differentiated precincts to house leading urban brands was also "a first for local shopping centres".

"In the youth and streetwear precinct we've introduced stone flooring to give the area an urban, CBD feel. A range of further specially defined precincts will be rolled out later in the year, including designer fashion and mainstream fashion areas, each with its own look and feel."

Westfield had garnered information on what customers wanted through its research department and focus groups targeting current and desired customers, Godridge said.

"Rather than doing what every other centre is doing we decided to talk directly to our customers. What they were saying is that they were looking for authenticity, and they didn't want a shopping centre that was huge, daunting and difficult to negotiate. Instead what we've got is a beautifully designed centre on two levels with clearly defined categories."

It was hoped Westfield Doncaster - which represented one of the most affluent demographics in the Westfield group's portfolio - would become a leader in shopping centre execution, she said.

"What we've done is to recognise what Doncaster customers have been wanting for a number of years. This is now a world class shopping destination. We had $600 million to spend on it and we recognised that we had a chance to really get it right."

By  Belinda Smart