CUE

Cue – Westfield Sydney

When the first Cue store opened, it brought fast, reactive fashion to Australia – and became an Australian fashion pioneer. Over 40 years later, Cue continues to influence. In our quest for great fashion – exclusive new designs arrive in store every week. In the beginning, Cue concentrated on the latest looks from London with exclusive prints that kept the fashion-hungry hordes coming back for more.

That insatiable appetite for up-to-the-second style has been a formula for success, and we now have stores in all major cities throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Cue is still a family-owned company – by the same family that started it all back in 1968 – and is 100% Australian owned. We are proud of our heritage but always have a focus on the future – and on creativity. All designs originate in our head office in Sydney, and almost everything is made in Australia.

Staying local has meant that we can respond immediately to current trends and customer needs – and we also keep jobs in Australia. We also work with the most prestigious fabric mills in Europe to develop fabrics to our own specifications and with our own print designs, meaning that you won’t see those prints and fabrics anywhere else.

Westfield Sydney sees Cue return to the Pitt Street Mall with our new flagship store. Designed by award winning architects Lippmann Partnership – our new home of Cue is all you need to make a fashion statement this season.

Flying high as the second-largest fashion brand in the world, H&M is making a landing at the Pitt Street Mall in Sydney. The grand opening of its flagship Sydney CBD store is slated for late next year. H&M will be located in the Glasshouse shopping centre, taking the site that currently houses the Uniqlo pop up store. Uniqlo will move to 420 George Street.

Glasshouse co-owners Stockland and Investa Commercial Property Fund (ICPF) are welcoming retail giant H&M with a $30 million redevelopment plan that was part of the deal. The building that will house H&M will retain its historic façade as the H&M shopfront, but the bulk of the interior will undergo a major renovation to transform the existing L-shaped pedestrian mall between Pitt and King streets.

H&M will be in solid company as the Pitt Street Mall reshuffles existing shops to make room for a new round of international brands. The world’s largest fashion brand of Zara is in the mix, as is Polo Ralph Lauren and cosmetic leader Sephora. Forever 21 remains in the mall, moving to the former Adidas location at 400 George Street.

Pitt Street Mall already holds the cards as the sixth most expensive street in the world based on rent per capita. H&M’s leasing of up to 5000 metres in the mall further fortifies its reputation as the “fast fashion” strip in the state.

“We have big plans for Glasshouse and Stockland Piccadilly,” said Stockland group executive John Shroder, “and it’s a major retail coup for us to attract and sign one of the world’s most iconic brands.”

The group’s goals include creating clearly unique retail centres in city and suburban areas while establishing strong shopping centres in regional locations. The Glasshouse retail complex and its office tower at 135 King Street have enjoyed an increase in leasing activity and decrease in vacancies since the ICPF acquisition in January.

Despite the high rents, Pitt Street Mall has been a lucrative target for many international retailers that are eyeing Australia, according to Savills researcher Simon Hemphill. And there are many. Sydney in particular is an alluring location, with brands from across the world aiming to establish a presence. These include Britain’s River Island, Hamleys and Marks & Spencer; Japan’s Sony; and the US brand of Microsoft.

The H&M shop opening at the Pitt Street Mall will be the second in Sydney for the fashion brand. The first H&M store is scheduled to launch this month at North Ryde’s AMP Shopping Centre’s Macquarie Centre.