Beauty giant Mecca has unveiled plans to launch a new flagship store in Melbourne – one large enough to dethrone its own Sydney site as the biggest dedicated beauty and retail destination in the Southern Hemisphere.

Mecca’s new flagship will be situated on Bourke Street, occupy 3,000 square metres across two levels, and will launch in 2023.

“We want to put the joy back into shopping and see our Melbourne flagship as an opportunity for us to continue to innovate, try new things, and really raise the bar,” said Mecca founder and co-CEO Jo Horgan.

“After 24 years of opening stores across Australia and New Zealand, our flagships are the culmination of the past, present and future of Mecca as a business.”

According to the beauty firm, the new flagship will showcase experiential retail, as well as edutainment and inspiration, and will feature masterclasses and pop-ups alongside over 200 of the world’s most coveted brands.

The announcement comes a week after the business said it is expanding into the Northern Territory with its first store in Casuarina, Darwin – the first dedicated beauty destination in the city, according to Mecca – launching last Friday.

“The opening of Mecca Casuarina means we now have a store in every single state and territory in Australia, taking us to 107 stores across Australia and New Zealand,” Mecca’s chief retail officer Maria Tsaousis said.

“We are thrilled to bring the signature MECCA magic to the Northern Territory through our unbeatable in-store experience.”