usiness. For Joel Biggins, general manager of Merrell Australia, Melbourne offered the right audience and setting for the concept. “Melbourne is one of Australia’s strongest outdoor and streetwear markets, and Emporium puts us at the centre of the CBD’s premium retail precinct,” he told Inside Retail. “This store is our brand showcase in Australia: it shows the full breadth of Merrell and lifts how the brand is seen across all our channels.” Balancing performance and lifestyle The flagship reflects an evolving customer base, with Merrell building its appeal among younger, style-conscious shoppers while maintaining its performance foundations. Biggins says hiking remains the brand’s core business and continues to grow. At the same time, the Moab 3, premium 1TRL products and collaborations are attracting a younger audience. Emporium accommodates both groups through a strong performance range alongside a curated lifestyle and collaboration offer within the flagship. Introducing third-party brands takes that approach further, giving Merrell a broader assortment without relying entirely on its own products. “These are like-minded brands,” Biggins said. “We’ve collaborated with Gramicci, Pyra and Melbourne-born P.A.M. and together they tell a fuller outdoor-lifestyle story that brings in new customers and gives them more reasons to buy in one visit.” The commercial rationale combines customer acquisition with opportunities to purchase across complementary labels in-store. Merrell will assess the multibrand approach through a combination of sales performance and social interaction. For Biggins, the partnerships also have a positioning role, helping customers see Merrell through a more elevated lifestyle lens. Success depends on more than sales of the additional labels. They also need to strengthen the store’s appeal, attract new shoppers and keep existing customers coming back. A destination beyond the transaction The flagship design supports that ambition, using ambient sounds to evoke the outdoors and a Grand Canyon-themed look out room to add an experience beyond product browsing. “Merrell Emporium is a global first,” Biggins said. “It’s a destination rather than a transactional store, with immersive design and experiential features, along with our third party collab space.” The format brings the broader product range and experiential elements together within one retail setting. Those features are intended to encourage customers to stay longer and return, rather than simply complete a purchase and leave. Merrell will track dwell time, community event participation and sales productivity to assess the store’s performance. Together, those measures will help establish whether the destination format is generating sustained engagement and commercial returns, providing evidence for decisions about how the concept might evolve or expand into other cities. Testing the next growth phase Merrell currently trades 14 Australian stores, comprising four concept stores and 10 outlets, alongside e-commerce and wholesale distribution. Biggins identified modernising Hike, scaling Trail and expanding Lifestyle as its biggest growth opportunities. Product and franchise segmentation differentiates the channels, giving direct-to-consumer operations and wholesale partners offers suited to their customers. Within that network, the Emporium flagship serves as a showcase for the breadth of the brand rather than an isolated retail experiment. Sydney and Brisbane are potential next destinations, but further investment depends on results from Melbourne. “We see real potential for the concept in other key CBD markets like Sydney and Brisbane, with any rollouts tied to the success of Emporium,” Biggins said. The decision will hinge on commercial evidence rather than the format’s novelty alone. “Before committing, we’ll need to see Emporium deliver on sales productivity, profitability and the multi-brand model.”