Danish toy brick maker LEGO is slated to open its debut Perth location this year, as the company looks to ramp up its retail expansion plans after social distancing restrictions remain lifted across Australia.
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The European company’s first LEGO Certified store will open in the Western Australian capital city before Christmas, in partnership in partnership with LEGO Australia and New Zealand, and store operator, Alquemie Group, which is owned by Sydney-based ACTA Capital.
Location details and exact dates have not been disclosed but ACTA Capital revealed to local media outlets that negotiations have begun on securing a site, including Joondalup, Karrinyup or Garden City shopping centre.
“We have been progressing discussions on a number of fronts and are reasonably confident our first Perth store will open this side of Christmas,” Richard Facioni, founder and chief executive of ACTA Capital, told Perth Now.
The debut Perth store opening is also expected to be followed by a second Perth store in 2022, with the plan to have one south and one north of the CBD. The store rollouts come on the back of LEGO’s announcement back in 2019 to open some 30 retail locations across Australia and New Zealand by 2021.
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With Covid-19 restrictions slowing that expansion, it is expected that the Danish brand with return to its original retail rollout for the remainder of 2021 and into 2022. Most recently, LEGO announced plans to open in Australia’s capital city, Canberra, back in March. There are currently eight LEGO-certified stores in Australia and one in New Zealand.