{"id":716,"date":"2023-07-13T16:19:24","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T08:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jogiadiamonds.com.au\/blog\/?p=716"},"modified":"2023-07-13T16:23:47","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T08:23:47","slug":"the-sad-demise-of-king-st-perth-australias-first-bankrupt-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jogiadiamonds.com.au\/blog\/the-sad-demise-of-king-st-perth-australias-first-bankrupt-street\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sad Demise of King St Perth: Australia\u2019s First Bankrupt Street"},"content":{"rendered":"

An article<\/a> last Friday in Fairfax papers tells the story of post pandemic Melbourne and Perth. Essentially, it states that whilst Perth has nation leading office occupancy in its CBD, the retail vacancy in the CBD is 26.1 per cent \u2013 the highest CBD vacancy rate in the country. Meanwhile, in Melbourne, the opposite is true, with a retail vacancy rate of 9.2 per cent, but a very high office occupancy rate.<\/p>\n

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As anyone who runs a business or lives in the Perth CBD knows, the decline of retail in the Perth CBD has been going on for years. As this article<\/a> from 2017 states, the vacancy rate back then was only 16 per cent, with a Property Council WA spruiker claiming the vacancy rate had peaked back in 2017.<\/p>\n

When Jogia Diamonds first moved into our showroom in King Street, in early 2019, it was billed as \u201chot\u201d tourist destination<\/a> and Perth\u2019s home of luxury brands, with Tiffany & Co, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci and Chanel all calling King Street home. Whilst there were one or two vacancies, the street was very much alive, with international brands filling the southern end and independent boutique retail in the northern end.<\/p>\n

However, beginning 2019, shops began to either move out of King Street or close down completely. Tiffany and Louis Vuitton were bribed<\/a> by Charter Hall to move to nearby Raine Square. Others such as Prada closed down, presumably due to the lack of international tourists. Fast forward to today, and King Street has a sort of moribund feel to it, with a street level vacancy rate of at least 50 per cent.<\/p>\n

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Walking down King Street this evening after attending the fantastic Winter Lights launch from Brookfield. <\/p>\n

What a sad street! <\/p>\n

Vacancy rate around triple Perth\u2019s retail average!#perth<\/a> #wanews<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/RaXYQXoMD4<\/a><\/p>\n

— Brent Fleeton (@BrentFleeton) August 24, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n