Rumours – Canberra Centre

by The Editor

Well, well, well… there are interesting moves at the Canberra Centre.

Thanks to a tip-off from our reliable source DB, it appears the biggest change since the launch of the Bunda Street extension is about to hit city’s shopping hub.  The Canberran recently ventured out with a camera phone to examine movements around the mall, and photograph the rumours’ ground zero.

The most obvious piece of the puzzle is upstairs at the old Trenery shop which, along with a number of other retailers, had a shopfront extending from T2 all the way down to the travelators at the Ainslie end of the top floor.  These have been boarded up for a while now and, while there are a number of other sites in the Canberra Centre, the sheer size of the space suggests a much larger strategy is at play.

Walking along the top floor towards Dendy, the old Events store is now marked as the future site for Trenery.  So, the question is this:  Did Trenery deliberately downsize or – as can happen in any shopping centre – were they forced to move?

We would suggest the latter – however there are a few pieces of the puzzle to put in place.

Keep walking down the arcade and you will find a closed shop advertised as a future site for Sportsgirl.  Now, we realise this is getting further away from the action, but it’s important part of the whole.  Sportsgirl leaving their prime position at the entrance of the Canberra Centre, would also seem highly unlikely.  They’ve been there for years.  So, were they also forced to move?

We’re going to say yes.

Go down the escalators and walk back towards our theoretical ‘ground zero’.  Upon reaching the perpendicular main arcade two venues are immediately in your sights: an operating Cotton On (with a massive sale), and a closed Michel’s Pattisserie with almost all former infrastructure removed.  Which of these venues would fit nicely in a vacated Sportsgirl shop back near the entry?

Have a look at these photos.  Removing Cotton On gives the opportunity for a two-story retail outlet.  There’s still the issue of access for Target, but that shouldn’t be too much of an issue given the amount of work required to install such a large, new venue.

Clearly The Canberra Centre’s management is shuffling the cards in preparation for the arrival of a ‘destination’ retailer.  We think there can only be a couple of possible options, so our question is which one?  The American tech company that makes pretty, shiny objects of desire? Or the Spanish fashion house that makes us pretty, shiny objects of desire?

What do you think?

About these ads