Buchan has collaborated with Home Consortium since 2016 on their conversion of more than thirty former Masters Home Improvement Hardware Centres across five states in Australia, transforming them from industrial-style spaces into Large Format Retail centres & HealthCo Health Hubs.
Sites are designed around hyper-convenience, with each centre anchored by leading brands including predominantly national retailers spanning daily needs, leisure and lifestyle and services enterprises.
The most contemporary example is HomeCo Richlands, which opened mid-2021, and incorporates a supermarket, gym, sport & rec facilities, large format retail, specialty retail, F&B, and childcare centre.
Precinct sector leader and principal architect, Phil Schoutrop, says retail and bulky goods (large format) is no longer thought about in isolation of other sectors.
“LFR was traditionally used to describe whitegoods, furniture and homewares housed in larger boxes, but customers are now looking for a return on experience – something that is personalised, sustainable and engaging. To be able to deliver this, developers need to better understand the customer lifestyle and what they are looking to invest their valuable time in.”
HomeCo Braybrook photography by Lisbeth Grosmann
