Latest news with #O'Connells
Otago Daily Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Shock as flagship Queenstown store to close
Duty Free Shoppers (DFS) Group's flagship Queenstown CBD store has sunk. The international retailer is pulling the pin on its high-end T Galleria store, which sells luxury brands across two floors of the redeveloped O'Connells building. DFS Group's new-concept store — occupying about 1800sqm — opened less than three years ago. In an email seen by the Otago Daily Times , an Auckland-based buyer for DFS New Zealand tells business partners: "It is with a heavy heart that I share with you the news that as part of a strategic review of our global store network, DFS has made the decision to end our operations in Australia and NZ." The email says the last day of trading for DFS Australia's Sydney store will be September 10. For the Queenstown and Auckland stores it is September 30. DFS Group has stated it is intensifying its focus on its Asian heartland and said its first-quarter performance was "again held back by prevailing international conditions". It faced particular challenges in its Macau and Hong Kong "heartlands", including modest levels of visitor traffic from mainland China to Macau and foreign exchange strains, and was also retrenching in Europe. When DFS Group, hailed as the world's leading luxury travel retailer, signed on to take over two floors of the O'Connells building in early 2021, during Covid and when it was still under redevelopment, it was seen as a major coup for landlord Skyline Enterprises and Queenstown. At the store's opening in October 2022, a DFS Group Oceania vice-president told the Otago Daily Times the group "follow where the travellers go", and Queenstown had long been a desired location. He was also grateful to Skyline for its support. Skyline chief executive Geoff McDonald said DFS Group pulling out of its 15-year lease was "a blow". "Look, you feel for them. They've actually been great partners, really." To have secured DFS for two floors during Covid "was obviously ideal at the time". Mr McDonald said he found out DFS was leaving about two weeks ago. "We were quite shocked, like everyone else, but the more we thought about it, we thought there's some opportunity in this for us. "Our view is it's sad and disappointing, but one door closes and another one opens. "We think there's an opportunity to look at a kind of mix of brands in there that will appeal a bit more to locals." Mr McDonald said he could not count on one tenant taking the entire space again. "Some of the existing brands might want to stay and then without doubt we'll be looking to bring others in." It would also look for international brands. There was also a chance for a retailer to take street frontage and occupy the level immediately above. "We aim to obviously get a couple of key tenants and then the others tend to follow." Mr McDonald said the CBD was becoming more attractive for retail.
Otago Daily Times
13-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Pool's salute to surrounds noted
Nineteen projects, including a community pool, a retail precinct and nearly a dozen homes, have been recognised in the 2025 Southern Architecture Awards. The Roxburgh Pool by Hierarchy Group was a winner in the public architecture category for seamlessly blending practicality, sustainability and sculptural design into the riverside facility. Jurors noted how the simple geometry of the changing pavilion complemented the rugged Teviot Valley landscape, while the golden hue of a faceted screen served as a year-round reminder of autumn colours. On a larger scale, the George St, Dunedin, Retail Quarter by Jasmax won the planning and urban design category for a project that began as an infrastructure upgrade but became an ambitious initiative to revitalise the city's retail quarter. Working in collaboration with Kāi Tahu, the project aimed to make mana whenua history and narratives visible within the retail quarter, offering a more authentic representation of Dunedin's cultural history beyond its widely recognised colonial architecture. Jury convener and architect Mark Mawdsley said in a statement the judges were particularly impressed this year with projects that demonstrated innovation, whether that was new ways of working or use of new technologies. "The new sustainability judging criteria added this year helped us uncover projects with high-performance building envelopes, use of electric power technologies and an emphasis on sourcing low-carbon or local materials. The best of the high-performance homes we saw were around 10 times more energy-efficient than a typical home built to code." The jury presented 11 awards in the housing category, with an emphasis on projects that connected to the landscape and took advantage of the natural beauty the region is known for. In commercial architecture, the upgrade to the O'Connells building by McAuliffe Stevens was recognised for injecting energy into the retail landscape of central Queenstown. In addition to seismic strengthening, colourful interior updates and new visual connections at ground level were complemented by the facade and canopies that reference the surrounding jagged landscape. The awards are run by Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects. Mawdsley was joined on the jury by Geoff Lentz (Paua Architects), Tim Ross (Architype) and lay juror Sarah McCallum (Otago Polytechnic School of Architecture). Award winners The full list of winners announced at an event in Queenstown last night.— Commercial architecture and Resene Colour Award: O'Connells (Queenstown), McAuliffe Stevens. Education: Trinity Catholic College music and art suites (Dunedin), McCoy and Wixon Architects. Heritage: The Lakes District Museum (Arrowtown), Origin Heritage. Housing: Roger's House (Wānaka), Anna-Marie Chin Architects; Curio (Queenstown), Ben Hudson Architects; Penrith Peaks (Wānaka), Condon Scott Architects; Scout (Wānaka), Intuitive Architects; Openfield House (Arrow Junction), Keshaw McArthur and Matheson Whiteley; Manukard Gard (Queenstown), Mason & Wales Architects; Kākā Pod (Wānaka), Rafe Maclean Architects; Brick House (Wānaka), Rafe Maclean Architects; Kārearea House (Wakatipu Basin), RTA Studio; Beacon Point House (Wānaka), RTA Studio; Glenayr Farm House (Lawrence), Vaughn McQuarrie. Housing — alterations and additions: Weather Watcher (Dunedin), ahha. Housing — multi-unit: The Village (Queenstown), Arete Architects. Planning and urban design: George St, Dunedin, Retail Quarter, Jasmax. Public architecture: Roxburgh Pool, Hierarchy Group; Te Kāika Wellbeing Hub (Dunedin), McCoy and Wixon Architects. — APL
