[+] Developers Put Harris Farm Markets Top of the List

Entrepreneurial developers tapping into the nascent shop-top living trend are reaching out to boutique grocery chain Harris Farm in growing numbers. The grocery chain reveals it’s keen to do deals with developers, but one of the retailer’s three chief executive brothers reveals he’s very specific about what it takes to get a deal inked. As well as sharing the chief executive role with his brothers, Luke Harris is focused on fielding coming retail property targets. People and culture also fall within his remit. The luxury grocer is turbo-charging growth plans, but Harris shared some candid advice for developers wanting to lock in a deal with them. Harris Farm is only interested in engaging with developers early so it can ensure each store is purpose-built, he says. Register now to hear more from Luke Harris at our upcoming Retail Property vSummit, Thursday 10 March. Click here . “We want to be deep in conversations with developers well before the DA process. We need to be part of the conversations right at the very beginning of the development, rather than take on a lease after a site has been built,” Harris says. “If we’re interested, we want to be getting into discussions very early to have our say on how the development takes shape. Councils have seemed very responsive to Harris Farm when approaching it early.” Perfection required Harris admits he’s walked away from a number of deals with developers: “We look at so much stuff. It’s got to be perfect. We don’t really compromise.” “It’s all about position for us. We want to make sure the demographics are right, and be certain that the loading dock position and car parking is adequate,” he says. A development has to have enough space, have the right amount of car parking and the right loading docks, for example. “I don’t think you see many shop-top developments , but people want to live and work and shop all in the same micro-area these days.” ▲ The brothers behind Harris Farm, Angus, Luke and Tristan Harris. These developments represent a lot of private money, Harris says. “It’s all about the return on capital for us because it’s family money. It’s so important. It’s not like we’re concerned about the share price.” Harris refers to the residents living above the shop-top developers as being “our 100 best customers”. “But we want to get 15,000 customers a week, so the 100 residents aren’t the be-all and end-all. But if you walk around these densely populated areas and you’ve got 20 unit blocks in the neighbourhood, suddenly you’ve got 2000 customers, which is very substantial.” A family affair Big decisions about new stores are made as a family. Once Luke and his brothers Angus and Tristan are in agreement, development proposals are taken to the board for consideration, he explains. “The three of us always go to the board as one voice. We use the board as the umpire to ensure we’re making the right decision,” he says. Harris Farm has nearly 30 shops in the network, and will open a further five stores this year as part of its plans to double store numbers across the countr—two in Sydney and three in Victoria. He admits that Victoria will be a competitive market. The developments are getting bigger, too, with super stores now part of the mix. Each new store brings another 120 jobs, meaning a further 600 jobs this year across the five new stores. Harris Farm recently inked a deal with Sammut Group to take residency on the ground floor of the $350-million Cronulla CBD development between 3 and 23 Kingsway with venture capital partner Alceon Group. The deal supersedes plans for a 21-storey boutique hotel mooted for the site in 2018. ▲ Harris Farm Markets in the inner western Sydney suburb of Drummoyne. Harris Farm had been looking for an appropriate location in the Sutherland Shire Council for years. “The store will be the largest Harris Farm store in Sydney and will introduce new food concepts we haven’t explored before,” Harris says. Harris Farm has also been revealed as the first anchor tenant in Aviary Toowong $450-million development in Queensland. The 12 “sky villas” overlook the river and Brisbane CBD, and are being developed by State Development Corporation. The Toowong store will be south-east Queensland’s fourth Harris Farm store. The Harris endorsement Developers that have already inked a deal with a Harris Farm say it sets the tone for the quality of customers and residents. Toowong White &amp; Partners managing director Dan White says securing the Harris Farm store is “a huge endorsement that will give confidence to other retailers”. The busiest store in the chain is Drummoyne, which has six floors of apartments above the Harris Farm store. Harris admits that the retail spaces in shop-top living are always more involved to put together. Each new Harris Farm store requires an investment of between $10 million and $12 million. The butcher shops, air conditioning and refrigeration plants, for instance, are expensive. “You don’t get much change from $10 million. My boys would be laughing at me right now, saying, ‘you haven’t built a shop for 10 million bucks in three years’. It’s probably more like $12 million,” he says. ▲ Harris Farm is the anchor tenant for the Aviary in Toowong, Queensland. Covid bolsters sales While the pandemic has resulted in strong sales for Harris Farm, he admits it has made it challenging to secure great staff. However, he is adamant that’s always been the case. “At one stage in Sydney, we were getting 20 or 30 cases a day inside our shops among our employees, but we were ready for it. We knew it was going to happen, and we put plans in place to deal with it,” Harris says. “Making big decisions quickly has been crucial. We watch what’s happening with Covid , and we start sending out more products much earlier than wait for the government announcements.” This has enabled the retailer to keep the shelves stocked when stock at Coles and Woolworths has not being replenished. “I remember telling my Dad 30 years ago that it was difficult to get people. He told me that it was just as tough as the 30 years prior. Finding great people is just part of the job. “The secret sauce to the business is building those people to run the shop and making sure that customers get really great quality products.” You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus ( TUD +), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

Retail
Nina Hendy
Fri 04 Nov 22

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