Spotlight on Queensland

BDC Partners’ Jon Sully sees a mass movement of southern Aussies heading for the sunnier climes of Queensland.

“We all know that during this pandemic Australians have had a major reality check around lifestyle, work and their finances. Whilst this is a global phenomenon, in this country it is very clear Queensland for most ticks all three boxes and is subsequently benefitting from a massive interstate migration over the last several quarters.

“It will be interesting when the borders open properly to see what will happen, although I think it’s pretty safe to say this trend will go through the roof for both internal and international movements.”

So what does all this mean? What’s the impact on our industry in retail and franchise in the Queensland market?

Let’s look at who is relocating. Millennials appear to be the dominant generation – they are tech savvy, open and adaptive to change with a passion for learning while valuing social interaction in the workplace, says Jon.

This is a group that knows what they want and they expect to be able to get it, he says.

“Queensland now has an influx of new residents that need somewhere to live, need a job (or business), want restaurants and entertainment. The lifestyle they moved for is probably around the water so will be more regional and affordable rather than the inner city they have come from.

“To me this reeks of opportunity for our millennial dream chasers as the demand for all these needs and wants will be massive and not likely to slow down over the next 10 years.”

In many cases these facilities will need to be developed and built, he suggests, as demand for housing will outstrip supply. This will lead to job creation, more franchise opportunities, more

shops for lease and what he describes as a “seismic shift in business and wealth” in Queensland.

Of course, high-functioning franchise brands have already identified the potential and will be making headway into these markets.

Jon reports good deals are happening along the coastal fringe and within strong inland towns like Toowoomba; some councils are putting incentives in place to attract major brands to the regional towns by offering support for operations.

“The investment in retail real estate from shopping centres to bulky goods precincts will need to keep up to create the environment allowing retail to fill demand,” says Jon.

“It won’t be long now before corporate Australia follows suit and starts relocating head office locations to where they can find the right team, because I can tell you from experience you can’t find anyone in Victoria at the moment to fill job vacancies.”

Gerry Leyden, CBRE senior director, office leasing believes the Brisbane office market is showing signs of improving market fundamentals.

“Encouragingly we are seeing occupiers steadily increase their attendance in their workplace, with many businesses now adopting a hybrid model of three to four days in the office. We anticipate this trend will continue into 2022 with flexibility underpinning the workplace strategy for occupiers,” he says.

Gerry says much of the demand throughout 2021 has been for locally operated/managed businesses in sites of less than 1000 square metres.

Precincts that offer “best-in-class amenities, immediate access to transport and a diversified retail offering” are in high demand.

“As we move into 2022 the focus on the workplace experience is now more pivotal than ever in the decision-making process with landlords/developers now catering towards a product that delivers greater amenity flexibility for occupiers to utilise outside of their own workspace,” he says.

THE FRANCHISOR SHOULD HAVE TERRITORY AND LOCATIONS SORTED, THEY SHOULD BE DRIVING ALL THOSE DEALS. FRANCHISEES SHOULD NOT NEED TO DO ANYTHING AT ALL. Jon Sully, BDC Partners