Vicinity chief cautiously optimistic for a brighter Christmas season

But challenges remain, with the lockdown pushing retail trade down 2.7 per cent in July, and down 3.1 per cent on a year ago. That was offset by a not-unexpected rise in online retail sales, which soared 19.3 per cent to record highs with people stuck at home.

Yet delays in courier deliveries and missing parcels have led consumers to report online shopping fatigue.

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Vicinity acknowledges internet shopping is here to stay but also says it benefits from tenants with an online presence as the malls offer click-and-collect services. That brings people into centres and the hope is that they then linger and spend up at other outlets.

Heightened uncertainty around the latest Delta outbreak and corresponding lockdowns in NSW and Victoria also hit Vicinity’s Sydney city-based Queen Victoria Building, The Strand arcade and The Galeries assets as people had to stay away from their offices.

But while Mr Chye agreed that the company has felt the brunt of office lockdowns, he said the CBD assets operate as a local mall for people who work and live in the city and fringe suburbs.

“We think it [the CBD] is ultimately going to prove far more resilient than many may expect today,” he said.

“We see the CBD as a destination for a day trip, regardless of going to an office.”

For Mr Chye, the return to normality will see him implement his strategy as the new finance director to navigate the business in the post COVID-19 retail environment.

“I’m looking to make an impact with Grant and the team in how we navigate the post COVID-19 world in retail. I know there’s been a lot of speculation around the structural challenges of retail, but we have seen that once the lockdowns ease, there is almost an immediate return to the shops, as evidenced in terms of foot traffic and sales numbers,” he said.