OWNERSHIP of the $1.5 billion Direct Factory Outlet retail chain is set to change, after its two main backers, David Goldberger and David Weiland, reportedly "assess their holdings."

The AFR reports the privately owned business wants "to attract new capital" to see it through the next phase of development. But if the price is right, the whole business could be sold outright, possibly to a larger shopping centre developer.

DFO was introduced in Australia 14 years ago in Moorabbin, and now includes eight centres, three homemaker centres and a potential premium shopping centre site, on the former DFO Spencer Street, in the Melbourne CBD.

HAVING been saved from possible demolition about seven years ago, St Kilda’s Westbeach Bathers Pavilion will re-open next month as a high end café, restaurant and function centre.
 
The formerly rundown 800 square metre building at 330 Beaconsfield Parade, on the corner of Pier Road has been restored by a development consortium including kite boarding property developers Katani, in association with the City of Port Phillip.
 
Interiors within the 81-year old building have been refitted in a 1920s theme, and the redevelopment includes a new deck opening out to the beach.

ETHICAL ice-cream giant Ben & Jerry's will open its first Australian store in Sydney next month, with plans to have its products available nationally over the next two years.

The 31-year old company will team with Mission Australia to provide training and jobs for prospective employees, and will donate all proceeds from locally developed ice cream flavours to the charity.

Ben & Jerry products are initially expected to appear in about 200 selected delicatessans in Sydney and Melbourne.

THE Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has approved a major mixed use development, for a site opposite the popular Balwyn Theatre.
 
The owner of the 188 Whitehorse Road Balwyn site, represented by town planner Urbis JHD, plans to build a 3-storey building comprising a 2,412 square metre supermarket, two levels of offices totalling 3,565 square metres, and 213 car spaces. The development, which will also be accessed via Jersey Street, was approved by VCAT with some amendments. It’s speculated the project could have an end value of between $20 million and $25 million.

THE SHOPPING centre where Australia’s first K-Mart opened in 1969, is set to undergo a major extension and renovation.
 
The owners of the K-Mart Plaza, also known as the East Burwood Plaza, will double the size of the complex, on the corner of Burwood Highway and Blackburn Road, from 15,000 square metres to 30,000 square metres.
 
Pomeroy Pacific development manager Paul Chiodo said the $35 million extension will add about 30 specialty shops, a 5,500 square metre Coles supermarket, a 333 seat restaurant, gymnasium, and a First Choice bottle shop. The extension will be built over an an existing car park, on the western side of the 6.3 hectare site.

CONSUMERS spent $19.35 billion on household goods, clothing, and at cafes and restaurants in April, according to the latest retail trade figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The strong sale result comes after a steady fall in interest rates and petrol prices since last year, and two federal government stimulus packages announced in October, and February, which handed out $52 billion to Australian taxpayers.

Below is a summary of the April 2009 retail statistics, from the ABS:

AUSTRALIA

The seasonally adjusted estimate increased by 0.3% in April 2009. This follows an increase of 2.2% in March 2009 and a decrease of 2.0% in February 2009.
In original terms, Australian turnover decreased by 0.8% in April 2009 compared with March 2009. There was no percentage change for Chains and other large retailers (which are completely enumerated), while the estimate for 'smaller' retailers decreased by 2.3%. Australian turnover increased by 7.2% in April 2009 compared with April 2008. Chains and other large retailers increased by 10.4%, while the estimate for 'smaller' retailers increased by 2.0%.

INDUSTRIES

In seasonally adjusted terms, industries that had an increase in April 2009 were - Clothing and soft good retailing (+0.8%), Household good retailing (+3.9%) and Other retailing (+0.1%), while the Food retailing (-0.2%), Department stores (-2.8%) and Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (-0.5%) industries had a decrease.

STATES

In seasonally adjusted terms, the following states had an increase in retail turnover in April 2009 - New South Wales (+1.3%), Queensland (+0.8%), Tasmania (+0.5%) and the Australian Capital Territory (+0.9%). Victoria was virtually unchanged, while South Australia (-0.1%), Western Australia (-2.4%) and the Northern Territory (-4.6%) all decreased in April 2009.

PLANS to build a large concrete ceiling above the Windsor train station underpass, which would act as a floor to about a half dozen new shops on Chapel Street, may be on the table.

Government affiliated organisation Victrack, whose role is to operate commercially by adding value to the state’s public transport assets, said it is investigating plans to revamp the Windsor train station, and that a decision or proposal should be expected within 12 months.

The existing underpass bridge isolates the most southern part of the bourgeoisie shopping strip, from the parts of Chapel Street, north of the Windsor train station.

News of a redesigned Windsor train station and underpass comes almost ten years after Victrack undertook a similar exercise at a train underpass a little further north on Chapel Street, between Palermo and Arthur streets.

That redevelopment added about five new shops to the strip, tenanted by the likes of Sportsgirl, Puma and Rip Curl.

One of two neighbourhood shopping centres put to tender last month has been withdrawn from sale, while the other will be offered for private sale, as vendors are forced to accept demand for retail property today is not as strong as it was when they decided to sell.

A private developer has paid $5 million at auction for a row of six shops with redevelopment potential in Ivanhoe East’s Lower Heidelberg Road retail strip.

Private investor the Erdigroup has paid $18.25 million for St Kilda's Marque Hotel, on Fitzroy Street.

ANZ executives were laughing all the way to the bank this week, after a portfolio of 47 national ANZ Bank outlets sold for a combined total of $81.53 million.

Queensland based developer and listed property trust QIC has announced a $20 million expansion of its Watergardens Town Centre shopping centre, in the north-western suburb of Taylors Lakes.

According to an article by the Australian Financial Review, Japanese based daVinci advisers is understood to have backed out of a plan to buy part of the mixed use Foundry development in Bourke Street.

In a move sure to excite Fountain Lakes foxy morons Kath & Kim, the City of Casey has launched its $300 million vision for its Main Street retail and mixed use development, which marries into the Fountain Gate Shopping Centre in Narre Warren, about 42 kilometres south-east of the CBD.

Telecommunications giant Telstra has signed the biggest CBD office lease deal for the year so far, making the unusual move to lease more than 3300 square metres of third-level retail space at Grocon’s QV development, which it will convert to offices.