More than 60 retailers – including the likes of David Jones, Country Road, R.M.Williams and Zimmermann – are opening new or refurbished stores this week at Chatswood Chase north of Sydney, following a $625 million overhaul of the centre by its parent company Vicinity Centres.
The staggered 18-month project will now include the re-opening of the Ground Floor and Level 2, with a tenant line-up across fashion, beauty, lifestyle, technology and culture.
Alongside the above-mentioned, Australian designer Rebecca Vallance is also opening a store in the centre, joined by international labels such as Ralph Lauren, Coach and Boss.
The centre will also welcome the first Australian location for Armani Exchange.
Bridget Veals, David Jones’ executive general manager of womenswear, footwear and accessories, said the David Jones store launch at Chatswood Chase will present a unique curation of world-class brands.
“We’re equally excited to offer a suite of premium services including personal styling suits, beauty treatment rooms featuring Clé de Peau Beauté, La Prairie and Sisley, and The Apartment, a bespoke space designed to host exclusive trunk shows and immersive brand experiences that inspire and delight,” Veals said.
The centre is located in an affluent catchment where average incomes are more than 73 per cent above the national average. Vicinity expects opening weekend foot traffic to exceed 500,000.
Other key retailers entering Chatswood Chase include Mecca, Apple, Les Néréides, LSKD, July and Sephora, with Country Road Group’s Witchery and Trenery also opening refurbished stores.
LSKD founder and CEO Jason Daniel said the opening is a key milestone for the brand’s continued growth across NSW. LSKD now operates seven stores in the state, with Chatswood being store number 27. By the end of 2026, Daniel expects to hit 29 stores globally.
“We’ve always wanted to create spaces that bring our community together – where people can connect and be inspired,” Daniel said. “Chatswood Chase is such an iconic retail destination, and we can’t wait to welcome our Sydney community through the doors and celebrate with them.”
For Country Road Group, their three store openings in the centre will be accompanied by in-store offers and events.
At Country Road, customers will get a complimentary bouquet of fresh flowers with any purchase between Thursday and Saturday this week, with Witchery offering a Double Rewards activation during the same time frame. This includes a $20 reward when customers spend more than $100, and a $70 reward for spending $250 and above.
Trenery, meanwhile, will offer a travel room spray gift with purchase, an entry into a member-exclusive prize draw to win a Bennelong dining experience at the Sydney Opera House restaurant, along with a Trenery wardrobe, and complimentary refreshments in-store.
“The Chatswood Chase centre opening is a highly anticipated retail and customer event and we are so proud of how Country Road’s full lifestyle offering comes to life in our new store,” Country Road managing director Helen Wright said.
Looking ahead, Country Road Group is also set to open three additional stores for Mimco, Politix and Trenery at Melbourne’s redeveloped Collins Arcade in November. This momentum continues in November with the opening of three
As for Les Néréides, the Parisian jeweller will run its own in-store activation, allowing customers to make their own jewellery on the day from unused and unsold archived jewellery.
Pier Paolo Amaddeo, the brand’s artistic director and second-generation owner alongside his sister Bianca and parents Pascale and Enzo, said the archive pieces will come direct from Paris.
“I collect a lot of different parts from all those jewellery and in Chatswood, people are going to make their own. They will select the parts that they want. I think it’s going to be fun.
“I’ll also do a little psychology, seeing what customers are choosing for future artistic ideas.”
The brand’s Australian distribution is managed by local business partner Forooz Normoyle under Moda Nexus Group, which also manages Italian fashion brand Roberto Verino, as well as Love Persimmon and Mr Boho.
According to Normoyle, the team is planning to open another Les Néréides store in Brisbane CBD and has its sights set on New Zealand.
The overall October reveal at Chatswood Chase follows the relaunch of the centre’s food and hospitality retailers on Lower Ground in November 2024, and precedes Phase 3 of the project, anticipated for completion in April 2026.
“Today’s reopening marks the beginning of Chatswood Chase’s new era, as it establishes itself as a retail destination that delivers a customer experience commensurate with the world’s best premium shopping destinations,” Vicinity Centres CEO and MD Peter Huddle said.
“A project of this magnitude and complexity would not have been possible without the support of our local community and council and without the collective development capability across Vicinity and Multiplex. I am especially looking forward to working with our retail partners – both existing and new – as we bring this asset to life and share in its success and prosperity.”
Chatswood Chase is home to more than 200 retailers, with recent reports from Vicinity indicating the centre has a total value of over $1 billion.