New York fashion label Rag & Bone is the latest boutique designer to hit Australia's shores where it will open a store next month in Melbourne's The Strand arcade.
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The fashion brand fronted by actress and singer Haley Bennett has signed a lease on the corner of Little Bourke and Elizabeth Street in a space next to other clothing retailers Acne Studios and COS.
Rag & Bone has taken a 130 square metre spot previously occupied by independent local fashion label FAT, which closed stores and went into administration a year ago.
The Strand, a ground-floor retail arcade linked through to the Emporium Melbourne mall, is owned by Industry Superannuation Property Trust which has $5.2 billion retail assets under its umbrella.
ISPT leasing executive Stuart Cameron said the lease was arranged directly with Rag & Bone's Australian licensee Incu, a fashion and lifestyle business run by Sydney-based twin brothers Brian and Vincent Wu.
The news come on the back of a raft of local retailers getting into trouble. Sydney suit-maker Herringbone and upmarket stablemate Rhodes & Beckett collapsed on Tuesday while last week, high-profile labels Marcs and David Lawrence faltered under the weight of almost $30 million in debt.
Rag & Bone was fitting out the store with a likely opening in mid-March, Brian Wu said.
"It's one of our top two or three brands. We want to try and grow our customer base for contemporary designers," Mr Wu said.
Other new tenants in The Strand include cosmetics brand MOR and clothing retailer New Denim.
ISPT won planning approval to refurbish The Strand in 2013 and has since targeted boutique labels to occupy key locations in the internal walkway and street-facing stores.
The fund manager would not disclose rental details but space in Little Bourke Street typical fetches around $3000 to $3500 per metre.
Sam Curry, ISPT's head of retail, said new entrants like Rag & Bone were attracted by the recent success of other international retailers in Australia.
There was a natural transition from Asia to Australia for retailers wanting to create a global footprint, he said.
Figures released Monday showing consumer spending grew marginally by about 0.9 per cent in the December quarter but was up 3 per cent over the year.
The strongest growth was in electrical and electronic goods with footwear, watches and jewellery also performing well.
Mr Curry said consumer sentiment was reasonably positive and ISPT's retail portfolio was "generally consistent" with other retail owners.
"We've seen some growth. It's not a rosy outlook. The retailers doing well are the ones adapting their business to the market," he said.
