Hp To Launch Australian Retail Megastore

Hp To Launch Australian Retail Megastore
Hewlett Packard will lease space for its first Australian megastore
by Larry Schlesinger.

US computer giant Hewlett Packard has taken space in a Collins Street mall for a new retail store.

HP will take about 1000 square metres on level one at Collins 234 Boutique Place, the mall and office complex in the sought-after retail pocket between Swanston and Elizabeth Street, sources close to the deal told The Australian Financial Review. 

The deal is estimated to be worth around $500,00 a year in net rent and follows last month's announcement that software giant Microsoft would open a 581sq m flagship retail store over two levels in Westfield Sydney on Pitt Street Mall.

Technology retailers use physical stores to showcase their new products and also as a way for customers to get one-on-one advice and to take in their products for in-store service.

It is understood that Microsoft and Samsung are both seeking retail stores on Collins Street, while Apple has not given up on its long-held ambition for a flagship Victorian store in the city.

T​he HP deal was negotiated by Gary Loo of Knight Frank, who was unavailable for comment. HP could also not be reached for comment.

It's the second major lease struck in Collins 234 Boutique Place in less than two months. In March, German luxury leather goods brand Braun Buffel struck a $500,000 a year deal for a 103-square metre shop, at the entrance to the mall with dual frontage onto Collins Street through Knight Frank.