New stores to open at Cairns Central as local shoppers spend up big
Cairns Central will soon be home to a new cafe-restaurant, a new sushi bar and a massive modern games arcade as the centre celebrates a big win in retail sales figures.
National cafe group Billy’s Place will open in the space vacated by Tosca's, while another large franchise chain Warra Sushi will bring sushi back to the centre after the exit of Sushi Train.
And parents should prepare themselves for an outbreak of pestering whenever they visit Cairns Central once iPlay opens.
The iPlay amusement centres are home to everything from laser tag, ten pin bowling, and dodgem cars to pool tables, remote control car tracks and an array of skill testing amusement games.
RETAIL SPENDING
Despite national retail spending being on shaky ground over the past 12 months, Cairns Central was recently ranked number one in Queensland for sales per square metre in an annual survey by industry publication Shopping Centre News.
The Moving Annual Turnover (MAT) per square metre ranking is based on the total retail sales for the year, for all reporting retailers. This is then divided by a retail area from which the retail sales were derived.
The result meant Cairns Central was ranked 18th out of 95 centres across the nation.
The strong local result bucked national retail spending trends, which have been see-sawing over the past year. After a weak Christmas period, Australian retail sales rose by 0.6% in February, the strongest percentage increase since November 2017.
But a new survey by NAB found sales growth slowed sharply in March, meaning the February revival was short-lived.
Cairns Central Centre Manager Christie-Lee Jackson described the sales per square metre result as an "outstanding achievement".
“The Shopping Centre News ranking is a credit to the excellent products, services and experiences our retailers deliver to the surrounding community," she said. "We are excited to share this acknowledgement with them.
“We continue to attract high traffic numbers to the centre to experience and enjoy the premier retail offer. The quality tenants, central location and community connection are some of the contributing factors to the success of Cairns Central.
“We really excited to announce that Billy’s Place, Warra Sushi and Iplay will open in the next couple of months which will enhance the centre’s leisure and lifestyle offer.”
Cairns Central was also recently recognised on a national level for Best Community Campaign at The Shopping Centre Council Of Australia Marketing Awards, receiving accolades for its "Embrace The New Faces" diversity and inclusion campaign as part of the popular Face Of Cairns Central search.
