by Australian streetwear giant Culture Kings will make its New Zealand debut at Sylvia Park, the second big brand to announce a new store at the Auckland mall.
The retailer, which is looking for in-store DJs as well as retail staff for its new store, launched a local online shopping site in 2017.
Aubrey Cheng, the general manager of leasing at Kiwi Property Group, which owns Sylvia Park, said landing Culture Kings first New Zealand store was a huge coup for consumers.
With the streetwear scene becoming increasingly vibrant in New Zealand, the move to bring Culture Kings to Sylvia Park reflects the direction of the market, and allows Kiwis closer access to international brands and trends, Cheng said.
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The Culture Kings shop will be about 1000 square metres, Cheng said.
While Culture Kings did offer some unique product lines, the big drawcard for customers was the experience on offer at the store, he said.
Australian streetwear giant Culture Kings is set to open its first New Zealand store in Sylvia Park. The company is looking to employ staff, including DJs, for the new store.
They will set the new bar in terms of experience for retail.
Entering a Culture Kings store was like entering a nightclub, which reflected the retailer’s core customer base, Cheng said.
Bringing in brands such as Culture Kings and JD Sports was part of a broader strategy for Sylvia Park, he said.
We are targeting unique stores, so [brands] like Zara, Culture Kings and JD Sports, he said.
These retailers understand that if you get [the launch] right, it will be absolutely massive.
Cheng said about 15 per cent of shoppers at Sylvia Park came from around the country.
People came to the city for events and went to Sylvia Park because it was a one-stop shop, he said.
We are very purposefully looking for those big magnets. It’s not just about getting the brand into our mall it’s about getting the biggest store, so it has that compelling, unique draw.
Culture Kings chief executive Simon Beard said coming to New Zealand was exciting for the brand and had been in the works for quite some time.
We had offers on places pre-Covid, but we put it all on hold, he said.
Culture Kings had been looking at sites in the central city, but since the pandemic began there had been a clear shift away from city centres for shoppers, he said.
Parking also posed a real problem for customers in Aucklands CBD, making Sylvia Park a better option, Beard said.
The Sylvia Park fitout was the most expensive the company had done and ran into millions of dollars, he said.
What made Culture Kings different was that it had up to 1000 new product arrivals each week, with up to half of those being world exclusives, Beard said.
We like to say we sit at the intersection of music, sport and fashion.
Culture Kings had seven stores in Australia.
The new Sylvia Park store was its first bricks-and-mortar store outside Australia.
Culture Kings first New Zealand store will cover about 1000 square metres.
In February, it was announced that Beard was in talks with Boston-based Summit Partners to sell a half-share of the company.
If completed, the deal would value Culture Kings at more than A$600 million (NZ$647 million), which would make it the biggest ever private sale in Australias retail and apparel sector, according to Australian media reports.
The deal offered the company a door into the United States, Beard said.
Culture Kings Group made a profit of A$19.4m for the financial year ended on June 30 last year.
The Sylvia Park Culture Kings store is expected to open on July 23.
First Retail Group managing director Chris Wilkinson said Culture Kings had a cult following in Australia.
It is a very immersive experience, he said.
First Retail Group managing director Chris Wilkinson says Sylvia Park is building itself into a regional retail destination.
As well as DJs, the stores in Australia included barbers.
Having the barbers there meant people go in on a regular and habitual basis but then, when you are in that environment, it’s all encompassing. You get wrapped up with the vibe of the store.
However, a Culture Kings spokeswoman said the barber shop has been removed in a late change to the plans for the Auckland store.
Wilkinson said the decision to bring in Culture Kings by Sylvia Park give the mall an edge.
The location of Sylvia Park makes it New Zealands only real regional shopping centre, Wilkinson said.
The connectivity is really important. There is very strong road access from north and south. Then, you have really strong public transport links. It has everything, as a retail destination, that is fit for the future.
