ollowing with similar store concepts. Woolworths’ dark store may be one of the first for the Australian grocery sector, but according to Lisa Powell, head of retail practice at Amblique, more Australian retailers, particular in the fashion sector, are beginning to rollout ‘hub stores’. Hub stores, or warehouse stores, operate as a traditional retail store open to the public, but also act as a pick up point for quicker deliveries for customers in surrounding areas. “It’s all about the customer not waiting,” Powell says of the growing trend. “Hub stores are opening in areas where it takes longer to get product, but I do think there is also something to be said for strategically making stores more of a hub.” Powell says hub stores are also helping retailers fuel their click and collect offering, a strategy yet to be fully capitalised on in Australia. “Australian retailers need to come up with creative ways to be able to give the customers what they want in a sustainable way. Click and collect is the ultimate convenience. “We’re starting to see more retailers being creative in how they get ‘anytime, anywhere, any second of the day’ to work, and what hub stores do is encourage people to click and collect. “The internet is very instantaneous and customer expectations have changed. Customers expect to be able to get product exactly when they need it. “There’s a few companies that have click and collect models, but you have to wait a couple days to collect it, and I don’t think that’s what customers want,” said Powell.