Bricks-and-mortar sales have come back with a bang over the past year. Scentre Group owns and operates 37 Westfield shopping centres in Australia and five in New Zealand and has reported record sales of $26.7 billion for its calendar year 2022 – an increase of 21 percent by contrast to 2021.
Elliott Rusanow, CEO of Scentre Group, attributes the bullish figure to the company’s strong operating performance and proactive customer strategy. “In 2022, we activated more than 15,400 events across our portfolio of 42 Westfield destinations and welcomed 480 million customer visits, up 67 million on 2021.
“So far in 2023, we have welcomed 70 million customer visits, an increase of more than 10 million compared to the same period in 2022”.
With such record results across the Westfield stable, demand for businesses to partner with the retail giant remains very strong, said Rusanow. “The group completed a record 3,409 lease deals during the year, an increase of 912 on the year prior. This included 2,232 renewals and 1,177 new merchants, of which 288 are new brands”.
The Westfield Plus membership program has also gone from strength to strength. Over the past year, the number of members has increased by one million taking total membership to 3.2 million.
Scentre Group also continues to invest heavily in fast-growing locations. Stage 1 of the $355 million investment in Westfield Knox in Melbourne opened in December and the remaining stages will come on board through 2023. The $33 million investment in Westfield Penrith in Sydney threw open its doors in November. Westfield Parramatta also received an injection of $33 million and premiered a fresh food precinct in December.
Beauty is a significant and highly visible part of the mix at Westfield shopping centres, so Scentre Group’s increased footfall and sales results are welcome news. Leading brands and retailers located in Westfield complexes include Aesop, Chanel, Christian Dior, Innisfree, L’Occitane, Mecca, Sephora, David Jones and The Body Shop, together with skincare and beauty services from leading franchises such as Australian Skin Clinics and Laser Clinics Australia.
We are confident that the strength of our business and platform, the quality of our team and our customer-focused strategy will continue to generate long-term growth, added Rusanow.