Please tell me H & M will be in Melbourne

Heard amazon were in discussions fpr something here?

Kinda supports the "small market" and "high freight costs" argument.

Also, places like Singapore, Dubai and the likes have massive shopping tourism, which probably boosts sales figures.

If they lowered the prices and had some decent clothes shops here then we might get the shopping tourists!

I remember coming years ago for a big spend up in Sydney, couldn't find a thing - it was either frumpy office clothing or beach gear and little in between. I do find Oz to be quite trendy now but some of it is just weird and probably fine if you are in your 20's!

Some of the clothes here are nice, we have some great boutiques in Mornington but just so expensive!

Slightly off track but how the heck can they justify the cost of things like rugby jerseys?

The daughter encouraged me to but a Wallabies shirt before the Tri Nations in Perth last August - cost $170 - whereas the same shirt could be bought from one of the on line rugby companies here in the UK for just £49.

Just bought some Force and Reds kit for next season paying £12:99 for ISC polos and £16:99 for coats or a fleece. Seems wrong that its so cheap over here.

Had an exchange pupil at my school last term we was mystified as to how he could be buy a Socceroos shirt for £34 before the WC compared to the cost in Perth.

Rant over.

More relevant would be population within 25km of the city. Sydney is massive is land mass compared to the other cities. Its like saying Australia has only 3 people per sq km so everyone must have massive gardens!! For those that don't know we are all squashed into the coastal areas. More like 1500 people per sq km

A lot of people who live more than 10km outside of the city (if by city you mean CBD) never go there for shopping. Since I've had kids and stopped working in the CBD, I hardly ever go there for clothes shopping. Too much hassle. So H&M or Gap coming to the CBD would probably not entice me there much more often.

One of the differences I see between here and Europe, is that in Europe you have lots of small and medium-sized towns that can support a network of high street brands.

As an example:
I lived in the Midlands and every town/city within a 25 km radius had a Next, M&S, and whatever else. Eg. Coventry, Leamington Spa, Warwick, Solihull, Stratford, you name it, it's got it!
Australia has very few medium-sized towns/cities that can support decent high streets outside the capitals, which IMO reduces the size of the market and increases costs.

In short, I find it a pointless exercise comparing shopping in Oz and in Europe.

And yes, shopping choices in Oz are pretty dismal, but we didn't move here for the clothes

According to an H&M press release, the issue is the different seasons between the southern and northern hemispheres, and the problems associated with rolling out summer and winter clothes at the same time.

That would add to the unattractiveness (that even a word?) of Oz I guess. We'll probably get all the leftovers from the last collections

Yeah, but anything is better than nothing at the moment

I use the net to get decent clothes then get them shipped over. I can get decent brands like Stone Island, Paul Smith, Lacoste etc at far cheaper prices on UK web sites than you can in Australia

Inner Sydney is actually a bit higher than that at 2,058/km²

But then, a comparison to London Inner city would be:
A population density of 935,950 per 100sq kms (or 9,359 people per sq km)

A bit closer together than the general areas quoted before.

Very true. Apart from Target, there are Targets everywhere! Then everyone wears the same thing!

Singapore is interesting as every mall (and there are hundreds, thousands of them) all have the same chains.....how the hell do they all survive or are shop rents better there? You can have the same shop within a few hundred feet of another one because it's a different mall!

I actually found it quite overwhelming in the UK as I obviously hadn't been clothes shopping for a while and I was like a kid in a sweet shop with all these lovely clothes and at good prices! I just wish I had the money and the luggage space to bring more back! I've bought a nice few bits in Oz but really just by chance.

Biggest problem for clothing in Australia isnt necessarily the high prices or the por quality (although that does iritate a bit). Its the lack of sizing.

Jeans:
========
UK: Waist measurement + Leg Measurement = decent fit
AUS: Waist measurement only = jeans that dont quite reach my ankles

Shirts:
=======
UK: Neck measurement + arm measurement = decent fit
AUS: Neck measurement only = shirts where sleeves stop an inch short of my watch.

The wife has the inverse problem which I find even more perculiar - she's 5'0" and cant find anything that fits withut taking it straight from the retailer to a tailor to get it adjusted. In the UK clothing retailers have 'petite' ranges that mean this is not a problem.
Are there no small women in Australia? c'mon theres a VERY large population of small SE Asian women in Australia (gotta be a higher percentage of the retail market here than in UK) - So WHY are they excluded from the retail sector?

Our solution BTW is to save up clothing shopping needs untils we get to the UK and then go nuts buying up everything we see that all of a sudden FITS!!!!.....

No there are no small Aussies women....it's the sunshine, makes them grow in to 6ft Amazons. I've grown since I've been here but in the wrong direction

Probably Asian ladies go into Asian areas to get clothes, go back home or buy kids clothes?

I'm a shorty too so I at the moment because I have been going back to the UK then I just buy trousers etc there or get them altered but it is a pain. As if the clothes aren't already expensive then I have to get them altered. I did buy my first pairs of jeans here not so long ago but bought straight legs so I've just got big turn ups which are in fashion at the moment - phew!