By Claire Reilly

The Darwin retail sector is set to receive a boost, with Myer announcing plans to build a 12,000 square-metre department store in the city – the first full-range store of its kind in Darwin, according to Myer CEO, Bernie Brookes.

The new store will stock a range of product including electrical merchandise, homewares and apparel, and will be located in the 53,000 square-metre Casuarina Square shopping centre.

The centre currently houses 190 tenancies, including two supermarkets and a cinema complex, and has a moving annual turnover (MAT) of $380 million (as at April 2012), with a specialty MAT of $10,607 per square metre.

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“As we optimise our store network across the country, Darwin is the ideal location for a new store, and will expand our customer base and footprint into the Northern Territory for the first time,” said Brookes. “Darwin is a region of significant economic growth and the community support for the addition of a Myer store has been tremendous.

“The store will be in an ideal location for us," he added. "Casuarina Square is already a well-established centre that has a strong customer offer including specialty retail, supermarkets, discount department stores and a cinema. We believe the addition of a full-line Myer store will further strengthen the customer proposition.

“We are delighted to have reached agreement with GPT Group to be a part of their proposed expansion of the Casuarina Square Shopping Centre. We also welcome the Territory Government’s willingness to work towards integrating public transport into the development.

“As we build on the success of our new Mackay store in Queensland, we are looking forward to the opening of our next two stores at Fountain Gate (Victoria) in September and Townsville (Queensland) in October this year.

“Our national store network and strong Myer brand provide a unique advantage in supporting our omni-channel strategy. While we continue to be committed to a program of new stores and refurbishments, we are also seeking to maximise the productivity of floor space in all of our stores.”

Development applications are yet to be lodged, but the new department store is expected to be completed in 2016, subject to building approval.