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HARBOUR Town has joined the rush to renewal on the Gold Coast by announcing a $20 million upgrade for Australia's largest outlet shopping centre.
The move will boost retail space in the centre by 3500sqm through the creation of a new mall and a refurbished and expanded alfresco dining precinct.
The Harbour Town revamp comes on the heels of a $360 million refurbishment of Pacific Fair plus upgrades at Chevron Renaissance and Australia Fair as the Gold Coast retail market continues to improve.
It's also aimed at cementing Harbour Town's appeal to the tourist market, particularly for the inbound market.
The Harbour Town extensions will accommodate up to 25 new retailers with completion expected in mid-2016. This will be followed by stage three works which deliver a new dining precinct featuring more dining destinations.
The works will include 400 new carparks, constriction of which is already under way.
The Harbour Town upgrade comes on the back of a number of refurbishments this year by existing tenants, including Coach, Calvin Klein and Nike.
Harbour Town's offering was also boosted in July with the addition of Australia's first Victoria's Secret outlet store.
"The expansion is testament to the strength and popularity of outlet shopping in both local and international consumer markets, with savvy shoppers driving the high demand for affordably priced, quality products by respected
Australian and international brands," says centre manager Gary Webb.
Harbour Town is a favourite stopover for international visitors to the Gold Coast with research showing 91 per cent of them shop during their stay.
"In most cases, we are the first Gold Coast shopping centre international tourists visit and it is not unusual for them to return multiple times throughout their stay," says Webb.
"We are proud of this reputation and we plan to continue to significantly contribute to positioning the Gold Coast as a premier shopping destination both domestically and on a global scale."
Harbour Town, developed and owned by Sovereign Islands developer Lewis Land Group, currently has 220 stores, including Calvin Klein, UGG Australia, Oroton, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss.
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