David Jones preparing in Auckland

AUCKLAND: Australian department store David Jones will open the doors to its 7000sq m Auckland store in Westfield Newmarket in midNovember.

The twolevel store, located at 277 Broadway, in Newmarket, will be around 3500sq m per floor and home to hundreds of brands, interactive fitting rooms, a ‘‘beauty hall’’, two personal shopping suites and a designer accessories area. It aims to combine the best of local and international brands, including newtomarket brands, ‘‘in one place’’.

Work is under way on the initial fitout and in the next couple of months, the store will be handed over to the shop fitters to decorate and introduce the David Jones branding.

The upmarket retailer will begin its recruitment drive for the store next week, looking to hire more than 100 staff, including sales reps, stylists, marketing and logistics specialists.

David Jones entered the New Zealand market in July 2016, when it opened its Wellington store, in the former Kirkcaldie & Stains building. An Auckland store has been hotly anticipated by consumers.

David Jones retail director Aaron Faraguna said progress on the Auckland store was tracking to schedule, and that the retail chain, owned by South African multinational Woolworths Holdings, was excited to open its second New Zealand store.

‘‘We’ll have all the categories in the store: everything from beauty to food, men’s wear, women’s wear, home, beds and furniture,’’ Mr Faraguna said.

‘‘We’ve got two personal shopping suites, upgraded interactive fitting rooms, we’ve got a beauty hall with all the best local and international but also an area that is brandagnostic where we can bring in hot new labels and cosmetics brands that the market may not have seen before – we’ll be able to flip brands in and out. That’s a relatively new concept.’’ Mr Faraguna said the size of the Auckland store was considered relatively small compared to its other stores in Australia, though it would be about 10% bigger than the David Jones store trading in Lambton Quay — and among the biggest in the Westfield Newmarket mall redevelopment.

‘‘We treat all of our markets and all our customers very individually — there will be some very different brands and offers in Auckland that you may not find in Wellington.’’

For its Wellington opening, the department store giant brought a selection of retailers previously available only in boutiques, including Camilla and Marc, Shona Joy, Aesop and Tom Ford among a selection of its brands.

David Jones was also the first store in New Zealand to offer renowned international labels Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Valentino and Saint Laurent.

Mr Faraguna said David Jones was looking to expand and open more stores in New Zealand.

‘‘We’re not in any active discussions with landlords at this stage but should any suitable opportunities arise we would be happy to look at them.

‘‘New Zealand is a growing population and a growing economy, it’s a fantastic market for retail. New Zealanders love their brands and love to shop.’’

David Jones is finalising its New Zealand online store, which will go live later this year.

Newmarket Business Association chief executive Mark KnoffThomas said David Jones would draw more shoppers to the Newmarket area.

‘‘Having a megadepartment store name or brand like David Jones bringing in all of their brands is incredibly exciting and will be a great compliment to what we’ve already got, it will bring in more consumers and increase our catchment area,’’ Mr KnoffThomas said.