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Belmont Forum Shopping Centre
A number of shops, not just those that are in liquidation, are deciding to close up with some amalgamating staff into other existing locations around the Perth metro area.
It comes as the private Perron Group, who own Belmont Shopping Centre amongst others, have informed tenants that retail leases will increase by an unjustified higher amount.
What were my chances of going to Belmont Forum on Saturday 5th October, something I do only a few times a year (and the only place I go for my hair), to find that Salon Express were operating for their very last day?
Some of the staff would be transferred to Midland, some to another store and the remaining would no longer be required.
It appears that Salon Express have operated from the Belmont Forum since November 2017, which would’ve been around the time I first started going there, after their city Salon Express store closed. This awesome crew have been fantastic since day one!!
Vodafone were due to close two weeks later, with both a big store and café said to be considering vacating the Forum upon expiration of their leases in February and in seven months’ time.
Retail Liquidation
Mosaic Brands, a major Australian fashion retailer, recently entered voluntary administration on October 28. Some of their iconic brands include Crossroad, Katies, Millers, Noni B, Rivers and Rockmans (with all but Rivers located at Belmont Forum). I’d been informed of Rockmans entering into liquidation of October 5th but not the other brands.
I was also told Sussan, which is owned by ARJ Group who also owns Sportsgirl and Suzanne Grae, was also entering liquidation, although I haven’t been able to substantiate this with any evidence. Accounts lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission show a $21.1 million slide in profits to $13.7 million in the 12 months to July 2023, making liquidation quite possible in the near future.
For the moment, these ARJ stores, owned by Naomi Milgrom, appear to be carrying on, with both Sportsgirl and Suzanne Grae located at the Belmont Forum. I was under the impression that Sussan was located there too but it appears they haven’t for more than a decade.
What with five of the stores potentially closing up, if they haven’t already, in addition to the loss of Salon Express, Vodafone and Bankwest (a few months ago), it’s just a matter of time whether or not other shops will follow suit and vacate Belmont Forum.
Perron Group
It would seem likely that the recent lease hikes are a result of Perron Group, owners of the Belmont Forum, currently negotiating the sale of the shopping centre, as well as Cockburn Gateway. GPT, the interested buyers who currently own 15 shopping centres around Australia, only have Karrinyup Shopping Centre in their Western Australia portfolio and are said to be “looking to expand both its retail empire and property funds activities”.
The high return, regardless of its long term feasibility with tenants, who for most are either going to stay or move out over the next few months, looks like a safe buy.
GPT’s retail portfolio is valued at just under $14bn but generates annual retail sales of $11.5bn.
With its founder 96 year old Stan Perron passing away in 2018, this is the company’s “largest property exits” since. Morley Galleria, with its vacant ghost-like second floor, would be the only Western Australian shopping centre left in the Perron Group’s portfolio.
Belmont Forum opened in 1974, is managed by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) and was last redeveloped in 2018.
Redeveloping Morley Galleria
Morley Galleria is a shared ownership between Perron Investments Pty Ltd and Vicinity Centres.
A number of development applications have been lodged and approved over the years, with the last being a $350 million expansion in 2020, which has since been announced by Vicinity Centres as being deferred.
City of Bayswater Mayor Filomena Piffaretti led calls for action to be taken on the dilapidated centre, with continual inaction seeing the shopping centre falling into a state of neglect, at the cost of long-term tenants and loyal customers preferring to go elsewhere.
Improving Belmont Forum’s Image
In September 2024, VML partnered up with the Belmont Forum and Cockburn Gateway shopping centres, another pre-emptive sign of both centre images being improved before an impending sale was publicly declared.
VML are an international company offering a variety of services such as “integration of Brand Experience, Commerce and Customer Experience”.
It’s hard to imagine seeing a real difference, at least in a physical sense, being made to improve the images of both shopping centres. Particularly without modern redevelopment, shops tend to feel the same regardless of any changes and perhaps the objectives and said achievements just sound fancier in print.
