The revival in fortunes of the department store has been this decade's most fascinating retail development. Ten years ago, the preference among consumers appeared to be firmly in favour of specialist outlets, leading to predictions that the department store would disappear altogether. Today, that trend seems reversed as stores around the world are refurbished and revitalised. In Dublin, Brown Thomas and Arnotts have already been overhauled and Clery's is about to have a facelift. Brown Thomas has also revamped its Cork store and is preparing to so the same in Limerick and Galway over the next couple of years. The department store, far from being in decline, has now reasserted its supremacy among shops and there are even new examples of the genre opening such as Colette in Paris. This year, however, the latest and smartest such store to appear is in Melbourne, Australia. Georges, which originally began trading more than a century ago, is a landmark on the city's smart Collins Street. It closed in 1985, but was then bought by a group of investors led by Stephen Bennett, an Australian Terence Conran, who co-founded the successful Country Road chain of shops. He oversaw a Aus$25 million (approximately Ir£11 million) facelift completed last February when the store reopened to consumers.
Today managing director of Georges, Bennett brought his English alter-ego on board the project; the Melbourne store now contains the only Conran Shop in the southern hemisphere as well as a basement brasserie modelled on Quaglino's in London. In addition, the building contains a groundfloor cafe and a communal-style canteen serving Asian-inspired cuisine on the topmost level, as well as a foodstore offering fresh produce and easy take-out meals. Australian and international fashion for both men and women is spread over two floors with a choice of major labels including Marc Jacobs, Collette Dinnegan, Joseph, Nicole Farhi and Clements Ribeiro. The same wide-ranging choice is evident everywhere, from the cosmetics hall through to the third-floor Loft, a showcase of design excellence spanning the worlds of home, office and leisure. The quality of merchandise is of a consistently high standard in every section, which is one reason why other owners of other stores around the world are now taking time to visit Georges and see what Stephen Bennett and his team have done.
Even more than the standard of goods on offer, the building itself marks Georges apart from every other department store thanks to an astute combination of late 19th- and late 20th-century architecture. The original atrium with its central gallery has been preserved as have the original cast-iron columns supporting floors. But they have been supplemented by more contemporary fittings and a cool palette of colours for the paintwork. By placing emphasis on space and light, the design team responsible for Georges today has made it an alluring and frankly irresistible spot in which to shop. Right now, this is the most attractive department store anywhere; include Georges on your itinerary if you are making a trip to Australia.