Data shows retail occupancy in George St is sitting at 84% and, despite improving for the past three consecutive quarters, is 1% more vacant than it was one year ago.
Golden Centre Mall director and property investor Jason La Hood confirmed footwear retailer Ugg would be moving into a vacant lot on the street, as well as homeware and linen brand Wallace Cotton.
An agreement was also being finalised with an “internationally recognised brand” that would be making its debut in Dunedin.
“It will have the same wow factor that Mecca had.”
Such international brands wanted to be a part of the new “modern look” George St, Mr La Hood said.
“They’re saying, ‘Hey, money has been spent on the street, let’s be part of it’, and to me that’s promising.
“It’s unfortunate that you’ve had a few smaller retailers leave, which has sort of skewed the figures.”
While vacancies in the street were “a wee bit high”, Mr La Hood believed it was only temporary.
Other main centres such as Auckland and Christchurch were struggling due to high interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis.
“But I think Dunedin is well placed for when those two factors flip.
“You’ve got a lovely street and you’re going to get that demand that’s going to come back, and I think we’re going to fill relatively quickly.”
Music and record store Relics is also among the latest tenants to the street, its new store at 165 George St expected to open between late August and early September.
The retail space it is filling had been vacant for about 15 years.
Co-owner Irene Hundleby said they started running out of room at their two St Andrew St stores — a music shop and separate hi-fi store — several years ago.
Having been based in the street since 2013, the George St store was “like moving into another dimension” for their business.
“We’re referring to it as ‘Relics 2.0’.
“We’re merging them together. It will be lovely to have our whole team together for the first time in a long time.”
She loved the upgraded George St and believed they would see an increase in foot traffic.
Fellow co-owner Dave James said the new store was at a “highly visible site”.
“I’ve passed that shop for the entire time that I’ve been walking to work in 12 years at the current space and thinking, ‘Why is nothing happening in there?’
“It’s quite an attractive storefront, so something should be done, and it’s quite a surprise to me that it’s us that are doing it, but we’re doing it.”
The new store would emphasise the “symbiotic relationship” between the business’ music and hi-fi offerings, and give them more space to display stock, Mr James said.
The most recent retail occupancy survey by Quantify Consulting, for Q2 2025, said a total of 16% of all retail units across the three main blocks in George St were unoccupied.
The only change since the previous quarter was the addition of one new retailer in the Meridian Mall block, which also had the highest percentage of occupancy out of the three blocks.
Commercial property valuer Adam Binns said occupancy had again improved slightly since the last quarter, the street’s overall vacancy now having reduced for three quarters running.
Overall vacancy was 1% higher than the same time last year — which Mr Binns then said was the “single highest quarter” of vacancies since the company began collecting the data in 2014.
