Retail battle lines are drawn through the middle of Pitt St Mall

Retail battle lines are drawn through the middle of Pitt St Mall. We have spoken extensively on Livewire about the challenges facing domestic retailers. On my lunchtime walk I got to witness what international competition looks like first hand. Despite the humidity and heat there is a line of ravenous consumers sprawling for hundreds of meters down the middle of Pitt St Mall. They are waiting in anticipation of the opening of the new Sephora store. The photos attached show what the lure of international brands offering a wide range of competitively priced products can do to evoke animal spirits within the consumer. For all the discussion around the prospect of international competition hitting our shores I think the level of interest I saw in Pitt St Mall today really drives home just what competition really will look like in the years ahead.