Pandemic or no pandemic, global retailers are still keen on expanding into new terrain, and a flurry of international brands are setting up shop in New Zealand.
This year more than 15 international brands have opened their first stores in this country, with more set to arrive before Christmas.
Luxury and fashion retailers alike appear to be playing the long game, investing in plush shops in major centres and malls, despite these locations having been hit hard by lockdowns and by city centre workers opting to work from home. Now the overseas brands are waiting for the return of cruise ship passengers and other tourists.
Italian denim and casual wear brand Replay is under way with work on its first local store, which is being developed in Auckland's Sylvia Park, New Zealand's largest shopping mall.
The retail brand, which is operated in the Tasman region by the same company as British streetwear brand Superdry, is an official sponsor of the All Blacks and will open the doors to its 100sq m store in October.
Founded in 1981, Replay has more than 400 shops worldwide, including one in Melbourne, and hundreds throughout Europe, North America and the United Arab Emirates.
Brand Collective, the company bringing the 40-year-old Replay to New Zealand, has invested an initial $750,000 to launch here and fit out its store. It signed an international distribution agreement to bring Replay to Australia and New Zealand last year.
Brand Collective has annual turnover of A$600 million ($664m) and holds the retail rights to footwear brands Reebok, Hush Puppies and Clarks, as well as Superdry.
Antony Hampson, general manager of Replay Australia and New Zealand, says launching into New Zealand has been on the company's radar for about two years.
After the Sylvia Park opening, the company plans to open more Replay stores nationwide and open up its wholesale business.
"From a logistics perspective it makes sense to get to a critical mass so we can manage the brand within the market," Hampson told the Herald in an exclusive interview, adding that there was a genuine "appetite for international brands" among Kiwi shoppers.
"We'll definitely be looking for other opportunities to roll out additional retail stores."
He says Replay is confident it will be well-received in this market.
"There is a customer in both Australia, but particularly in New Zealand, who are happy to pay a premium price point for a really high-quality product. In the denim market, the fast fashion space where the price point might be well below $100, the market is quite saturated, but when you start to look at premium brands in New Zealand specifically, there is not a huge amount of competition."
Hampson says inflation in New Zealand, now at a 30-year high, and consumers pulling back on discretionary spending, are no reason for worry.
"Borders are opening up and people are starting to spend on travel ... it's about providing an exceptional service and a great product, and we have both of those things that we'll be introducing to the market."
As part of the launch, Replay will host the All Blacks for store appearances and meet-and-greet events to make the most of its sponsorship partnership, which involves the brand dressing players between matches.
Hampson says now is an exciting time to be expanding and opening bricks-and-mortar stores as consumers have begun returning to in-store shopping, as they were before Covid struck.
"The last two years have been tough on retail," he says. "We've seen some really strong growth in e-commerce and that has accelerated across all brands over the last few years, but what we're starting to see now is a bit of normalisation - where our e-commerce sales were growing double-digit growth; we are starting to see [a dip] and significant return in foot traffic back into physical retail stores - that gives us a lot of confidence.
"We've seen really good success with some of our other brands out of New Zealand. What New Zealand delivers for a brand like Replay, and also Superdry, is a climate that is perfect for jacket sales and winter apparel.
"New Zealand is such a beautiful destination and we do see a perfect mix of the local customer who enjoys good quality international brands, who are willing to invest in that, but also a good mix of both local and international tourists to all parts. That's why New Zealand is such a great market for a lot of international brands."
Meanwhile, Italian luxury powerhouse Versace is set to open in Auckland's Westfield Newmarket in late October, and fashion clothing retailer Golden Goose is also said to be under way with work on its first local store in Auckland - expected to open before Christmas.
Nike
In September, footwear giant Nike will open a new retail offering, in what it says will be a first-to-market "experiential" retail store, introducing a concept that is already in a string of its major markets globally.
In January, Nike closed its Auckland store in Atrium on Takutai Square in Britomart and is under way with work on its new Queen St store, which is set to feature a "live" concept TV screen feature that has led to a big boost in sales overseas.
Retail Prodigy Group, which holds the master franchise for Nike stores in New Zealand and Australia, says the 450sq m Queen St store will be the first in the Pacific region to debut its live "Your Home of Sport" concept, said to take "inspiration cues from art, sport dimensions, their neighbourhood and communal experiences".
Nike already has Auckland stores in Onehunga's Dress Smart, Westfield St Lukes, Sylvia Park, Westfield Newmarket and Botany, but has never before traded from Queen St. It joins a growing list of international brands popping up on the inner-city shopping strip that was once considered Auckland's golden mile.
The new store will sell footwear and clothing in categories such as running, training, sportswear and basketball - including footwear from legendary basketball player Michael Jordan under the Jordan label.
"We are very excited to bring the latest Nike Live store format to Auckland and be able to bring Inspiration and innovation to our Nike customers," says Retail Prodigy Group marketing manager Trevor Stitt.
Costco
The world's second-largest retailer, Costco Wholesale, is almost ready to open its vast 1.4ha shopping site at Westgate in West Auckland in October.
The American brand, which operates on a membership model costing $60 a year, promised to open its long-awaited store this winter, and will sell a wide range of goods: everything from groceries, to tyres, to diamond rings and even coffins.
Its warehouse includes a tyre centre, optical and hearing aid centres, a pharmacy and food court, with about 14,000sq m of retail space, a fuel station and more than 800 car parks.
Thanks to bulk buying, it has a reputation for offering goods that are up to 30 per cent cheaper than elsewhere.
Costco is also planning a second $100 million-plus store elsewhere in New Zealand, with the Christchurch area floated as a potential site.
Patrick Noone, Costco Wholesale Australia and New Zealand country manager, has been definite in the past few years that the business will not stop at just one store in this country.
A government briefing paper addressed to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, leaked this year, revealed land on the Canterbury plains zoned for business development is earmarked as Costco's second home: a $100m-plus 13,900sq m store with 847 car parks, and it has already been consented.
Retail property expert Chris Wilkinson, managing director of First Retail Group, says he expects more world-class brands, including so-called "athleisure" brands offering sporty leisure wear, to set up shop in New Zealand over the next year as retail continues to expand, particularly on Auckland's Queen St as Nike's relaunch helps to renew the area's appeal.
"There have been a lot of overseas retailers in the country over the past six months as travel has freed up and investment appetite has returned. That's seen some of the overseas brands like Mountain Warehouse restart their expansion, plus there have been some retail developments completing in Invercargill and Wellington."
Culture Kings and JD Sport, SC Luxury, alongside a long list of luxury and fashion retailers including Van Cleef & Arpels, Balenciaga, Moncler, Jimmy Choo, Burberry, Alexander McQueen and Saint Laurent have successfully opened stores this year, most of them in Auckland.
Wilkinson says with many big names having already set up business locally, a new wave of openings within the retail entertainment category is just beginning, a trend that is sweeping main centres in Europe, the United States and most recently, Australia.
"This year has been slower in growth but two new entrants have been successful with Culture Kings and JD Sport having larger scale stores in Sylvia Park. Nick Scali has also continued to grow in the regions.
"We're likely to see brands like Oche enter the market while new entrants Funlab and Holey Moley, and Archie Bros Cirque Electric, will likely continue to grow their presence through our cities, malls and visitor destinations," Wilkinson says.
"[Many] overseas retail brands are still waiting to see how the main centres will perform and what type of scale and offer will best serve these future audiences."
Oche is a Norwegian company opening gastro-gaming dining experiences, with virtual darts and golf in its bars and restaurants. It has locations throughout Europe, has recently opened in Brisbane and is said to have its sights set on Melbourne and Auckland.
Newest retailer on the block
Luxury furniture, lighting and accessory retailer SC Luxury is perhaps the newest brand to enter the market, having opened its first store on Queen St at the end of June.
SC Luxury, which imports mainly European furniture from Belgium, Germany, Italy and Britain, sells international brands that have not been previously available in this market. It had been looking at opening a local store since before Covid-19.
Its Auckland store is housed in the historic Milne & Choyce building on lower Queen St, part of the growing cluster of luxury designer shops housed in the redeveloped section of Auckland's CBD.
"We thought it was quite an exciting [opportunity], there has never been a furniture store this end of Queen St before, and we wanted to be with all the other designer labels," Jacqueline Bock, general manager of SC Luxury, told the Herald.
The brand had been "looking to get here earlier" but faced delays due to lockdowns.
SC Luxury has a sister store in Australia and currently does most of its business with trade clients. Founder Ian Cavit was regularly travelling to Auckland to meet trade clients and architects and felt there was the "opportunity to introduce some beautiful product into New Zealand".
"[Clients] always used to say, 'it would be great to have a showroom here'," says Bock of the decision to launch a local showroom.
She says sales from the store are beginning to pick up after a couple of weeks of bad weather, and foot traffic, too, is improving. "We're finding people are coming in off the street every day, people are looking through the window, they're coming in and curious."
Steve Armitage, interim chief executive of Auckland city business group Heart of the City, says the arrival of international brands gives shoppers more reason to go into central Auckland.
"New-to-New Zealand businesses coming into market helps build appeal and overall confidence in the city's proposition so it's fantastic that a number have just opened or plan to open soon, including SC Luxury, MoVida and Nike. When you consider the introduction of these brands alongside some of the new, people-friendly spaces that are in development, there are now even more reasons to visit the city centre."
A taste of abroad
A taste of Barcelona is coming to Auckland from Melbourne, with the opening of Spanish-themed restaurant MoVida. This month it will open its first location on the second floor of Britomart's Seafarers Building, on the waterfront. It will be part of Auckland's Savor Group.
Chef Frank Camorra first hinted at his intentions of opening a local restaurant in 2016 after running a month-long pop-up in Auckland.
MoVida is one of a handful of hospitality operators gearing up to open their first locations in New Zealand.
Wahlburgers, co-founded by Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg, has secured the former site of restaurant Euro on downtown Auckland's Princes Wharf for its first dining venue - opening in September. The chain has 90 restaurants worldwide.
American cult burger brand Five Guys has also committed to opening restaurants here. The restaurant chain, known for its large portion sizes and American diner-style fast food, had planned to open its first location in Auckland this year but has faced multiple setbacks as a result of Covid-19 lockdowns.
The earliest Five Guys would now enter the market would be the second half of 2024, a company spokeswoman told the Herald.
Five Guys plans to open between five and 10 restaurants in New Zealand.
Seagrass Boutique Hospitality Group has signed an exclusive master franchise agreement with Five Guys to bring the brand to New Zealand and Australia, and is contractually obliged to open at least five local restaurants.
Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown have been earmarked for locations.