Debenhams has opened its first store in Melbourne, Australia. This is the first site operated with Debenhams’ franchise partner Pepkor, which is part of the Steinhoff Group.
The store spans 3,600 square metres across two floors, the store is the first of its kind for Debenhams and marks a shift away from the traditional department store format in Australia.
Debenhams’ managing director of international, David Smith said: “International expansion in key markets is a strategic priority for the business. More than 20 million shoppers visit our 175 UK and ROI stores each year and this includes a huge number of Australian consumers.
“Shoppers in Australia spend more than $5.1 billion on fashion and $8 billion on beauty products a year - add that to the fact that we know that our offering resonates and the next logical step for the business was to open a store in Australia.”
The new store has joined a portfolio of 243 Debenhams stores across 28 countries worldwide.
