Rodd & Gunn to open four-level global flagship in Melbourne

Marketed as a place where customers can “sip, savour, shop”, the Rodd and Gunn outlet is among a clutch of new-wave stores offering “experiential retail”.

“It’s not just standard retail that you’ll get in any other shop or in an arcade somewhere in the city,” says Chris Langford, a Hawthorn Football Club legend and managing director of Newmark Capital, the building’s owner.

“So it’s not just a product and a transaction; it is the time. You can wander around and you can browse, and you can look at the environment. 

“You can sample things and you can taste things, you can try things on. It’s much more immersive and it’s much more of an experience rather than a transaction.”

Mecca, which opened its flagship store on Bourke Street in August, is located in the same building. It also offers customers more than just a shopping experience thanks to on-site “scent sommeliers”, dermal therapists and hair colourists. 

Driven by Rodd and Gunn’s hospitality arm, The Lodge Group, the Collins Street building will feature The Lodge Dining Room on level one, framed by floor-to-ceiling arched windows. Restoration works have uncovered previously hidden original features such as tiled columns, marble finishes and parquetry flooring.

Michelin-starred New Zealand chef Matt Lambert will head the swanky eatery in a similar model to Rodd and Gunn’s fusion of hospitality and retail offerings at Myer Chadstone and Brisbane’s New Farm. At Little Collins, five and 10-course set menus are paired with wines curated by New Zealand sommelier Cameron Douglas.

A members’ bar can be found on the mezzanine level, while the lower-ground, once home to DJ’s food hall, will be home to a cafe and “cocktail laboratory” staffed by a “mixologist”.

The extensive upgrades to the building have breathed new life into the iconic CBD address. Designed by Melbourne architect Harry Norris in Gothic and art deco styles, it was the flagship store for G. J. Coles, the founder of the Coles retail empire. The store was sold to David Jones in 1986, and housed the department store’s menswear department.

The building was offloaded to Newmark in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic for a reported $121 million. 

Langford says it was an unforgettable time in Melbourne’s history to be making such an investment.

“I remember doing the inspections, and it was pretty quiet in the city,” he recalls. “You couldn’t even hear air-conditioning units going. It was a really eerie silence.

“And we did have a moment or two where we were second-guessing ourselves, wondering if Melbourne was going to bounce back, and what does the future look like? But we always saw the city as probably the strongest level of retail.”

The building’s revamp, undertaken in consultation with Heritage Victoria, was carried out in collaboration with the interior design agency Studio Y. The heavy awnings that once graced the front of the building have been removed, and a feature staircase with wrought iron railings has been revived.

The spring opening of Rodd and Gunn is aimed to coincide with events around Melbourne, and although Langford didn’t want to comment on the regular protests staged in the city, he said he expected strong customer numbers. 

“We know that there is a ripple effect and a lot more foot traffic, especially at this time of year, as obviously a lot of visitors coming from the city with football finals and the Spring Carnival coming up and a range of events that we know Melbourne is really good at hosting and the city is a key part of that,” he says.