Myer’s Retail Space Reduction Hits Home

The space reduction strategy that will see troubled department store Myer’s retail footprint shrink by up to 90,000sq m has hit its head office, with plans to walk away from its Collins Street corporate headquarters and cut its floor space by almost half.

The retailer has signed up as an anchor tenant in Poly’s new 25-storey, $500 million office tower at 1000 La Trobe Street in Docklands’ Digital Harbour precinct, entering into an agreement to lease 11,000sq m across five levels.

Myer will continue to occupy its current 10-level Docklands headquarters at 800 Collins Street until the completion of the 23-level Woods Bagot-designed tower in 2021.

Myer chief executive John King said the move to a more “appropriately sized” head office was in line with its “customer first” plan, which includes a number of space-reduction and cost-saving strategies.

“[The move will] ensure we are operating in the most efficient and productive way, and that we have an office environment that allows us to support our store team members in the best possible way,” King said.

The 10-year agreement for lease, negotiated by Poly Australia’s Ronnie Moe and Shane Burns from Colliers International, comes amid record-low office vacancy rates in Melbourne’s CBD.

Poly Victoria’s executive director Steve Wang said Myer’s “people-centric” floor plan design across levels six to 10, with its emphasis on open plan working, break-out areas, support spaces and vertical floor integrations, was a tribute to the flexibility of the 1000 La Trobe development.

“With the constantly evolving workspace trends and differentiating tenant needs we understand the importance of shaping these spaces in a way that will ensure our tenants experience continued satisfaction throughout their leasing term,” Wang said.

Probuild recently completed construction on the core of the A-grade office tower, which is set to become the first major tower in the Digital Harbour Precinct, and is targeting 5 Star Green Star and Nabers Energy ratings.