Spring has arrived and so has the September edition of Home News.

But the flowers are not the only ones blooming this month! Home Central Kawana is a hive of activity and colour as the finishing touches are completed and some of our retailers move in and open their doors for trade.

Don’t miss the special profile of Home Central Kawana’s new centre manager, Ainslee McCall.

And finally, in our next (October) edition we’ll share with you all the news of our exciting grand opening celebrations. As you’d expect from Queensland’s largest home maker centre, it’s going to be big!

The construction company responsible for the ‘bricks and mortar’ of Home Central Kawana, Thiess Pty Ltd, is currently packing up tools having almost completed the centre’s building and landscaping work.

As the trees and plants take root so do a group of exciting retailers many of whom are new to the Sunshine Coast.

There is a flurry of fit-outs currently underway as a selection of Home Central Kawana retailers join Spotlight and Dick Smith Electronics and open for trade ahead of the centre’s grand opening celebrations.

Global property expert Knight Frank Pty Ltd has been selected as the centre manager of Home Central Kawana.

With more than a century of business experience, a presence in every capital city in Australia and a network of overseas offices, Knight Frank has the expertise and know-how to deliver a world-class management service.

So you’ve heard all about the new Home Central Kawana retailers but want to know more, right? Then you can’t afford to miss our new Meet the Neighbours segment.

Each month we’ll feature a new member of the Home Central Kawana community. It is a great chance for you to learn more about your new neighbours.

First 'retailer off the rank' is PETstock, Australia’s leading retailer of pet products and supplies.

Like a terrier to a ball, there is no stopping the nation's leading retailer of affordable animal supplies.

Founded just four years ago in Ballarat, Victoria, PETstock already tops the pet and livestock market with more than 30 superstores across Australia. It also operates the internet's most popular pet product website with hundreds of items available.

This month PETstock will open its fourth Queensland store at Home Central Kawana.

Owner Troy Anderson said PETstock's secret to success was simple – provide quality, affordable pet supplies to all animal lovers and make pet ownership lots of fun.

"At PETstock, our vision is to create a fun and exciting shopping experience for our customers whether they visit us in store or online," Mr Anderson said.

"We understand that our customers are not just pet owners – they are pet lovers. Their pet is a member of the family and deserves the same level of care and comfort."

"We encourage our customers to shop at our stores with their pets to make purchasing the right product easier and a lot more fun," he said. (note to readers, perhaps call in advance if you’re planning on taking your pet venomous snake shopping!)

Mr Anderson said the new store at Home Central Kawana was located in an ideal position to enable PETstock to enter the Sunshine Coast market and continue its successful trend.

"There is a lot of competition in the market place so it was vital that our Sunshine Coast store had an enviable location in a burgeoning retail environment surrounded by other reputable businesses," he said.

"We are very excited about our store’s opening and even more excited about being able to provide a one-stop-pet-shop to animal lovers all over the Sunshine Coast."

The following retailers have now committed to calling Home Central Kawana home. A number of whom will be joining Spotlight and Dick Smith Electronics in opening their doors to customers in the coming weeks.

Visit the above websites or call today to learn more about the newest members of the Home Central Kawana team.

Q1. How long have you worked at Knight Frank?

I joined the Knight Frank team several months ago. Having worked with a number of other shopping centre management companies I have been extremely impressed with Knight Frank’s Asset Management Division. I am fortunate to work alongside a number of other people in our team who have a wealth of knowledge to draw upon. Not to mention the systems and policies in place – nothing is missed – from our facilities management to financial management we have the right people in the right job.

Q2. What is your retail and centre manager experience?

I have worked in shopping centre management for more than eight years, the last four of which I have been employed as a shopping centre manager. During this time I was responsible for managing a Central Queensland portfolio of properties with a total of three major tenancies and more than 100 specialty stores. I have also gained international experience and was employed in a retail portfolio manager’s role where I was responsible for overseeing the management of over 20 bulky goods stores and three shopping centres in the United Kingdom.

I have worked in various roles in shopping centre management and have experience with financial management, optimising tenancy mixes, leasing, and implementing shopping centre marketing campaigns as well as assisting retailers with individual marketing requirements for their own stores.

I have also worked closely with Landlords making recommendations to ensure the optimum performance of the asset.

Q3. As the new centre manager of Home Central Kawana, what will be your responsibilities?

One of my key responsibilities will be to implement and follow Valad’s ‘Tenant is King’ philosophy. This will form a fundamental part of our centre management approach. We will put an emphasis on ensuring we do our utmost to establish great relationships with our tenants.

As this is a new property we will also be establishing policies and procedures to ensure a smooth operation from the very beginning.

Q4. What do you hope to achieve in this role?

Since the beginning of my career in shopping centre management it has been my goal to work at a Centre just like this – a new centre where I can put in place from the very start the correct systems and procedures, to work with an innovative landlord (Valad) whose focus is on treating the tenant as king, and to work with a managing agent (Knight Frank) who are pioneers in their field.

As the centre manager I want to look back in the future and know that I have been responsible for helping Home Central Kawana grow from strength to strength, with a tenancy mix that creates interest and significant patronage from a broad trade area and to see our retailer’s sales performance and profitability increase every month.

Q5. What is your vision for Home Central Kawana?

My vision for Home Central Kawana is to be the most prominent home-maker centre in Queensland. To be a place that feels like home to our customers and our tenants alike. To be a place that provides cross mix of retail tenancies that appeal to our customer’s needs.

Most importantly, I want our tenants and customers to feel at home, at Home Central Kawana.

Q6. What is your favourite household room or item?

My courtyard where I sit on my outdoor furniture and enjoy breakfast.

Q7. What is your favourite Sunshine Coast pastime?

BBQ’s with my friends out on my apartment’s courtyard which has ocean views!

Owners of Home Central Kawana are one of four platinum sponsors of the Bulky Goods Retailers Association (BGRA) which has enjoyed a 650% growth in sponsorship support in the past 12 months.

Financial support from Valad Property Group and 80 other sponsors enables the Association to continue its work with local and state governments, improving retail planning laws for bulky goods centres such as Home Central Kawana.

Established in 1999, the Bulky Goods Retailers Association is the peak national body representing the interests of bulky goods retailers throughout Australia.

"Bulky goods is one of the fastest growing property sectors and has reached institutional grade investment quality in some areas," said Martyn McCarthy, CEO Real Estate Investment at Valad Property Group.

"We are delighted to be sponsoring the Bulky Goods Retailers Association as we believe it is critical that industry participants have a forum in which to discuss issues and challenges that face everyone with an interest in the bulky goods sector," Mr McCarthy said.

Bulky goods retailing accounts for a massive $33.5 billion, or over 20 per cent, of all retail sales in Australia and employs more than 50,000 people. Bulky goods retailing is now the fastest growing retail sector in Australia, substantially contributing to economic growth and investment.

When you’re next online don’t forget to visit the new Home Central Kawana website at www.homecentral.com.au

Feel free to send us your feedback on our new site.

Next month the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) together with the Committee for Economic Development of Australia is holding a state conference. The State of the Region Conference…
What If: Scenarios for the Future of the Sunshine Coast – Issues for Business will be held on 31 October at USC.

For further information or to register, please contact David Gration at dgration@usc.edu.au

• A selection of Home Central Kawana’s retailers open their doors this month ahead of the grand opening celebrations scheduled for later this year.
• Home Central Kawana is located in the heart of the rapidly growing Kawana Central Business District, along the Kawana Way sub-arterial road. The centre is adjacent to the State Government planned “intermodal corridor” – a proposed multi-modal transit corridor (train line, buses etc) to the immediate west of the site which will become an extension of the Sunshine Motorway. It will run from the Mooloolah River through to the Caloundra Road near Corbould Park and is scheduled for construction around 2008.
• The centre is part of the Caloundra City Council’s master planned Kawana Village combining industrial, commercial and retail space in a business hub around Kawana Lake.
• Home Central Kawana represents a long term investment and commitment to the future of the Sunshine Coast community by the centre’s owners, managers and developers.
• Home Central is owned by the Valad Property Group. Valad is a listed property trust and a funds management company (ASX code: VPG). For more information on Valad you can visit www.valad.com.au
• Home Central Kawana is one of five Home Central sites nationwide.
• Limited Home Central Kawana leasing opportunities are still available.
  
• Leighton Properties has developed Home Central Kawana and appointed Thiess Pty Ltd as the construction company for the project. Award winning architectural business, The Buchan Group has designed the integrated showroom/retail warehouse development.