First look inside $150m Perth DFO, a shopper’s paradise Helen...

First look inside $150m Perth DFO, a shopper’s paradise
Helen ShieldThe West Australian
Wednesday, 3 October 2018 9:37AMHelen Shield
DFO Perth is open and here's your first look inside.
THE FULL LIST OF ALL 113 STORES NOW OPEN AT THE DFO


First look inside $150m Perth DFO, a shopper’s paradise
Helen ShieldThe West Australian
Wednesday, 3 October 2018 9:37AM


Vicinity Centres $150 million Perth DFO, which opens today, will be opening 100 per cent leased and is expected to trade in line with the group’s other DFOs along the eastern seaboard.

Vicinity Centres regional general manager Justin Blumfield said discount fashion outlet shopping was the fastest growing sector in retail, recording 70 per cent growth over the past eight years.

He acknowledged that while outlet shopping was going from “strength to strength” on the other side of the country, the environment in Perth remained challenging.

However he said the location of the centre, a joint venture with Perth Airport, within the airport precinct and 500m of a future train station, was “outstanding” and a DFO offering discounts of up to 70 per cent on national and international fashion brands was likely to resonate with consumers.


THE FULL LIST OF ALL 113 STORES NOW OPEN AT THE DFO

“We are really confident that the DFO is going to perform well in Perth,” Mr Blumfield said. “It will be the best DFO that we have delivered in Australia because we have been able to deliver it from the ground up.”

Vicinity Centres had acquired, rather than built, its other DFOs, Mr Blumfield said, and while the group had “done some work” on them, the Perth DFO was “going to be an outstanding consumer experience”.

Perth DFO had been designed to incorporate a “fantastic casual dining precinct”, children’s playground, an “amazing digital screen” and extensive parking, with the first hour free. He predicted workers within the airport precinct would visit for lunch and, hopefully, to shop.

“We are super excited about this,” he said.

“We think we are delivering a great product, that consumers will like. When we are deciding where we will put DFOs, it’s about great precincts, and this one is close to the airport, city and public transport.

“We think growth in the future will be sustained because of those elements.” The DFO has 113 tenancies and had created 650 new jobs as well as the 250 jobs during construction. It is expected to be a beneficiary of the Perth Airport train station scheduled to be built by 2020.