Dress Smart in Auckland is marking 30 years of trading, its origins dating back to the early 1990s when outlet shopping Down Under was in its infancy. The centre was an Australasian first.

This month, the centre welcomed Timeless Watches as its newest tenant, following Bivouac last month and Pandora and Mirrou in June. 

The mall opened in 1995 with a trading area of 2106sqm and 20 stores, and has since expanded to 13,102sqm, with more than 100 brands; 58 international, 34 per cent local and eight from Australia, which have since grown into global brands. 

Mark Schiele, CEO at Oyster Property Group, which manages Dress Smart Auckland, says the centre has racked up more than $2.5 billion in sales since its opening and hosted 60 million customer visits. 

“The evolution of the centre and our involvement with it, through 30 years and various ownership structures, provides a sense of pride,” he says. “Following its initial development, Oyster has been involved in several expansions of Dress Smart Auckland, working alongside the centre’s owners to develop our ambitions for the centre. All the way through, we have developed, managed and leased the property, and it’s rewarding to see it grow into a go-to destination for the community over the last 30 years.”

The centre was launched in a building that had previously housed a Three Guys supermarket. The concept was to gather multiple brands under one roof, all offering discounted, end-of-season merchandise. 

“We bought a dilapidated supermarket in an area that was ripe for regeneration, and central to the greater Auckland region,” said Schiele.

“The Onehunga location was far enough away from existing malls and major shopping destinations so that retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers represented wouldn’t be parasiting sales of their brands in conventional stores. The centre needed to be accessible to a much wider catchment than just the surrounding housing network. 

“We set out to create a destination, and it’s proved to be that, helped by motorway accessibility and good public transport links,” he continued.

Oyster director and a founding director of Dress Smart, Gary Gwynne, who founded menswear brand Rodd & Gunn, says he was inspired to open the centre after a family trip to Colorado in the early 1990s. 

“I saw a full shopping centre-style outlet offering in Denver, and on return to New Zealand, I approached John Bougen, who had organised my store leases, and together we assembled a team to make it a reality in New Zealand. 

“Onehunga was the prime location for the centre, and we are proud to have brought the first pure shopping centre outlet experience to Australasia. What surprised me at opening was the sheer volume of people who arrived – we hit on a growing trend. It’s an evolving and expanding retail scene that is continually driven by our retailers and the region’s demographics.”

• This story was originally published on Shopping Centre News.