Two decades at Westfield under Lowy
An economist by training, Huddle started out at Caltex, where he worked in property development, M&A strategy, and retail franchisee management.
From there he moved to Westfield, the shopping mall empire co-founded by Frank Lowy. Huddle’s timing was perfect. Led by Sir Frank, Westfield was expanding globally, especially across the US.
Huddle spent almost two decades as an executive at Westfield, climbing the ladder and working abroad for nine years from 2011.
Along the way, the Sydneysider and his family lived two years in São Paulo in Brazil, followed by another seven years in the US. Huddle was based in Santa Monica in Los Angeles, where Westfield’s head office is the Century City shopping mall.
The ambitious executive rose to become co-head of Westfield in the US, where its expanding portfolio included the redevelopment of its flagship mall at the new World Trade Centre, which opened in 2016.
“It was a prolific period of large-scale retail development with a fantastic team.Some of that team actually works for us now: we brought some of those US executives into the vicinity team.”
Huddle’s time in the US also coincided with Sir Frank’s stunning exit from the Westfield empire, which was bought out by French malls giant Unibail-Rodamco in a $32 billion deal in 2017. Huddle stayed on as Unibail’s chief of operations in the US, before he was head-hunted by Vicinity in 2019 to be its operations chief.
Along with 20 years’ experience in running major malls, Huddle brought home something even more useful: a global perspective.
Vicinity’s $14.5 billion portfolio of 59 retail facilities is studded with well-known shopping hotspots: the Emporium Melbourne, the Queen Victoria Building and also Chatswood Chase in Sydney, Colonnades in Adelaide, Mandurah Forum in Western Australia, not to mention its popular DFO outlet chain.
But the jewel in the crown is the Chadstone shopping centre in Melbourne’s south-east which Vicinity owns jointly with John Gandel, the Rich Lister who is the company’s largest shareholder.
Huddle in Chadstone’s luxury section. “What we’re trying to do is create that Paris end of Collins Street inside this section of Chadstone,” he says. Louis Trerise
The sheer scale of the mall – it was most recently valued at $6.75 billion – means Chadstone’s competitors are not just in Australia, they’re global. It’s among the most profitable shopping centres in the world and its high-end customers will travel from abroad to shop there.
“To know ‘what good looks like’ you need to understand the business that you’re in, both domestically and globally, where future trends are coming from and to try to incorporate them into the planning you do for your current business,” Huddle says.
Chadstone is massive. Since it was built and opened by Myer in Melbourne’s south-east in 1960, it has expanded by at least 40 times. With 231,000 square metres of space to lease, it is bigger than 10 MCG pitches. Almost 21 million people visited last year, parking in its 11,000 car parking bays and helping its retailers to a $2.6 billion turnover – more than twice its nearest competitor.
It also home to the best-performing specialty retailers in the country – the industry term for those individual shops – which generate on average $30,000 in turnover for each square metre of retail space.
At the heart of one of its most recent expansions is a walkway of luxury brands rivalling the top end of Melbourne’s Collins Street and Sydney’s Castlereagh Street: Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, Dior, Balenciaga, Hermes, Christian Louboutin, Saint Laurent, Chanel, Tiffany & Co and many others.
Vicinity is the largest landlord for luxury labels in the country, according to Huddle, and has forged direct relationships with some of the world’s most powerful luxury houses such as Louis Vuitton, Richemont and Kering.
“It does attract a different shopper but fundamentally what we’re trying to do is create that Paris end of Collins Street inside this section of Chadstone,” says Huddle.
Chadstone’s owners – Vicinity together with the Gandel Group – are working hard to land its blue-chip shoppers. A dedicated bus runs from the CBD, and busy shoppers can take a break in the “Visitor Lounge” or book a stay at the 250-room, five-star Hotel Chadstone, run by Accor.
“They can stay in the hotel, they can have a spa, they can go and do some shopping, come back, have a nice meal here or at the centre. Make a weekend of it,” Huddle says.
Inside Chadstone’s 600-seat brasserie, Cityfields. Bonnie Savage
At Chadstone, the country’s top retailers typically have their best stores, trialling their latest products and concepts, says Huddle. But the massive mall is also a case study in how its owners are pushing to get the best returns from their real estate.
Alongside Hotel Chadstone, a nine-level office tower has been built – it’s home to Vicinity and Gandel’s headquarters, as well as other corporate tenants – and there are two more office buildings under development.
“We’re cognisant of how retail has changed particularly over the last 10 to 15 years, particularly with the advent of online,” Huddle says.
“What we are trying to do is make the best use of these large land allotments so that we can introduce residential uses, hotel uses. We can bring in commercial office uses, where it makes sense.”
“They’ve got to be financially viable in their own right, and they’ve got to complement the retail use.”
The drive to diversify is even more apparent inside the mall where, like other major malls, a growing proportion of space is devoted to eating, entertainment or services such as healthcare and co-working in addition to traditional retail.
It’s why Huddle is so keen to show off the Social Quarter, a new section of the mall whose tenants include funky eateries such as Cinque Terre along with interactive venues such as Archie Brothers.
The 53-year-old strides past the Piccolina ice-cream stand and bounds up a set of stairs next to Holey Moley and into Strike Bowling. “Come and have a look,” he calls out over his shoulder.
“I’ve always loved real estate and retail is the most dynamic form of real estate,” he says.“I’ve had privilege for the past 25 years of being a large-scale property developer.
”To build these types of facilities that are more than just a moment in time. They have longevity, being able to see them change and morph and really engage with the community and thrive is what keeps me excited about it.
“It’s what gets me out of bed in the morning.”
Huddle’s turn at the tiller came a little quicker than anticipated after his predecessor Grant Kelley’s departure was fast-tracked following a sexual harassment complaint.
In its wake, Huddle and chairman Trevor Gerber moved swiftly to reassure the company’s major investors, financiers, joint venture partners and other stakeholders.
“And we spent a lot of time with our team. That was about really resetting what we are as a business: the behavioural expectations that I’ll hold myself to account, and we’ll hold the whole team to account moving forward,” Huddle says.
As the whirlwind tour of Australia’s biggest mall draws to a close, Huddle is elaborating on how he prioritises the complex duties of a chief executive, his wish to remain low-profile and passion for the sector, which he tries to inspire in his team.
Then he leans in and lowers his voice a notch.
“But I’m as competitive as hell and I hate to lose. So that permeates a little bit through the business as well.”