Farmers to anchor new malls

The Farmers department store chain will become the anchor tenant for Westfield's proposed Newmarket and Albany shopping centres.

The two 10,000 sq m stores, each a third of the size of St Lukes - now rebranded as the Westfield Sandringham Shopping Centre - will be part of an overall alliance between Westfield New Zealand and Farmers Deka.

Westfield has yet to get planning permission for the Newmarket development based in and around Mercury Energy's former premises.

It expects to start work there in 2002. The alliance will also be involved in a new 7400 sq m store in Pakuranga and a slightly larger version when the Queensgate Centre in Lower Hutt is redeveloped.

Barry Alty, managing director of Farmers Deka's parent, Perth-based Foodland Associated, said Farmers had not kept up with the expansion of The Warehouse, its main rival.

"Westfield's expansion plans and the construction and commissioning of the new Farmers Ormiston Rd distribution centre means that these obstacles to growth have been removed."

The Warehouse this week said it would open at least five more stores in the next year and expand in Australia. While Farmers Deka's July quarter sales suffered from the warm winter, The Warehouse set records.