 |
| Lindsey Wixson at H&M Fall/Winter 2013 Source: melbournesgpo.com |
It's been announced that H&M's first store will be the GPO which is located in the heart of Melbourne CBD and with a floor space of more than 5000m2 and 3 levels, H&M will no doubt rival Zara as Bourke St becomes the battleground between these two fast-fashion chain retailers. While I am all too pleased about this announcement and I'm sure others will be jumping for joy, there is a downside.
Unfortunately, some of the stores in GPO such as Emporium (as confirmed on MGPO's Facebook page) will be forced to relocate to other locations in the CBD. Here's hoping that Acne won't be one of them!
Obviously, this is an absolutely fantastic location for H&M, near tram lines, a short walking distance between both Melbourne Central station and Flinders St Station, and situated on the famous Bourke St there is no doubt that H&M will attract a lot of foot traffic however, what does this mean for GPO, as a boutique retail space and as a brand.
As GPO currently stands, it is home to some of the most dare I say, sassy and hip international and domestic brands such as Acne, Karen Walker, Life with Bird and Manning Cartell. Although a month or so ago, Willow relocated it's Bourke St storefront in GPO to Malvern Rd, Hawksburn. It is through these brands, GPO has branded itself to be one of Melbourne's premiere boutique shopping locations. The difference between stores such as H&M and Acne are obvious, firstly their respective target demographics are completely different and so are their prices.
Obviously, this is an absolutely fantastic location for H&M, near tram lines, a short walking distance between both Melbourne Central station and Flinders St Station, and situated on the famous Bourke St there is no doubt that H&M will attract a lot of foot traffic however, what does this mean for GPO, as a boutique retail space and as a brand.
As GPO currently stands, it is home to some of the most dare I say, sassy and hip international and domestic brands such as Acne, Karen Walker, Life with Bird and Manning Cartell. Although a month or so ago, Willow relocated it's Bourke St storefront in GPO to Malvern Rd, Hawksburn. It is through these brands, GPO has branded itself to be one of Melbourne's premiere boutique shopping locations. The difference between stores such as H&M and Acne are obvious, firstly their respective target demographics are completely different and so are their prices.
H&M's pricing is not expensive, I'm sure their prices will be comparative to Topshop or Sportsgirl's and Zara's aswell. While Acne is much more high-end compared to H&M's notion of affordable luxury - targeting all socio-economic demographics. A basic white t-shirt if I'm not mistaken at Acne costs around $150. These differences in pricing may effect other stores, as H&M draws a much wider and different demographic compared to the current brands in GPO. In the last few years, GPO always branded itself to be a leading boutique fashion institution mixing Australian and international designers. And so with the arrival of H&M, one can only wonder, does this also mean a change for the GPO brand as well?
Nevertheless, it's about time H&M expanded it's multinational retail empire to Australia!
No comments:
Post a Comment