I’ve got fantastic news for LEGO fans in Melbourne – Alquemie and LEGO have announced that the largest LEGO Certified Store in the Southern Hemisphere will open at Melbourne Central in April 2022!
Update: The LEGO Melbourne Central Store will be opening on Saturday, 7 May 2022! It will be located at Level 2, Melbourne Central, Cnr Latrobe/Swanston Street!
The Grand Opening will be announced in the coming weeks, but I can foresee it coinciding with the April/Easter School holidays.
The 559sqm custom-made store will showcase an immersive new retail concept featuring hybrid digital and physical experiences designed to inspire creativity and encourage play.
It also looks Melbourne will be the first LEGO Certified Store in Australia to get the LEGO Mosaic Maker, which allows visitors to create personalised LEGO mosaics of themselves.
You’ll also be able to find the usual staples such as the most extensive collection of LEGO products at retail, as well as Build a Minifigure Station and Pick a Brick wall.
This being a new LEGO Store, it’s also likely that it will have the brand new “white store” retail fitout, which was first seen Down Under in the Perth LEGO Store. To get a preview of what to expect, check out photos of the Perth LEGO Store on Bricktastic Blog – it’s a much more modern, and contemporary look!
Richard Facioni, Executive Chairman, Alquemie Group comments: “Consumers are seeking interactive, personalised retail experiences and we look forward to leading that change with the launch of our large-scale omni-channel store at Melbourne Central.
“Our new landmark store will set local benchmarks for innovation and design and speaks to our commitment to continue to grow the footprint of the world-renowned LEGO® Certified Store concept throughout ANZ.”
The new store format has been developed following two years of LEGO® customer research which identified consumers were seeking opportunities to play, customise retail experiences and to have fun.
Troy Taylor, the LEGO® Group, says, “The new store format is part of the LEGO® Group’s strategy to innovate across retail channels, with a similar concept to be introduced around the world.
“Our new store at Melbourne Central will showcase LEGO® brand experiences whilst also allowing customers of all ages to share their ideas and creativity.”
I think this ultimately decides it, that Melbourne > Sydney.
As a Melburnian, I couldn’t be more happy, and can’t wait to share more!
Any update regarding the opening date??
I’ve asked, and Alquemie have said in a few weeks, so at this rate, it seems like May instead of April. Or maybe late April.
I’d say definitely May and even that might not happen. I was at the store location over the weekend. They haven’t started the fit out yet! So disappointing as I was hoping for an opening over the April school holidays. There is a nice Lego themed wall up but that’s about it.
Yeah, I’ve asked about dates and haven’t received confirmation yet.
My guess is that with so many delays, and difficulties sourcing building materials, and other various covid/supply chain shenanigans, the opening date got pushed. It’s unfortunate, as they probably would’ve LOVED having it open while LEGO Masters is on.
Can you let me know opening date will be. I am wanting to come down late April with my daughter from Queensland.
Grand opening is tomorrow morning 10am Thursday.
Do you mean Friday?
This is awesome! Any ideas if there will be early bird goodies?
I’ve asked, and will hopefully have an answer soon!
I’m sooooo excited by this news!!! I’m closest to the Doncaster store but travel through the city each day for work, this will be so convenient for me and also a total hazard! I will have to limit my visits! I would really like to see a Minifigure factory instead of the mosaic maker, which is a fun idea but too expensive, if it’s $129.00 in the US I’d imagine it will be $199.00 here. Let’s hope they have some awesome installations, it would be cool to see something similar to the giant tree in the NYC store, or a dragon. And maybe something with an Australian theme, maybe a giant hugging koala!? I do feel bad that Melbourne is getting a third at the expense of other locations but in the end I’m sure it comes down to profit, imagine how many sales they will generate in town! Maybe the suggestion of one at the Spirt terminal in Geelong is a good idea, they have a small store that often sells some good hard to find sets at the Melbourne Airport so it could be similar to that.
Yeah, Melbourne Central is really easy to get to by train as well, unlike Doncaster, so this will be helpful to most of Melbourne!
I’ve stopped working in the CBD, but this would’ve been a wayyyy too expensive distraction, haha.
I don’t know if we’ll get those installations – those tend to be reserved for LEGO Flagship stores, which are LEGO-owned, unlike the Certified Stores here, which are run in partnership with another party. We should get a nice statue, and Mosaic, though!
Geelong is interesting – I can see it being quite successful actually with all the growth in the West, but probably not yet as there are so many other pockets of Victoria that would be prioritised.
Can’t wait to show the store off, so keep a look out for a preview in April!
Melbourne now has three LSC and the LLSC with a retail store, where’s the love for Geelong???
I would love to visit a LSC just once for the experience, but my elderly mother is no longer able to drive any distance really and I have a debilitating medical condition and even on my best day, driving anywhere more then 25mins from home is too far, not something I am willing to risk to myself or heaven forbid other innocent people on the road. My only option would be my sister who I do not get along with very well and asking her would only lead to being told to do anatomically incorrect things to myself lol!!
Please Please Please give us a LSC in Geelong, even a small one would make a huge difference to Lego lovers in the region!
Light bulb moment, they could put a small one in at the new terminal they are opening later this year for the Spirit of Tasmania moving to Corio Quay, sell sets to parents boarding the ship to keep the kids entertained on the trip over and it’s only 10mins from where I live, problem solved!!!
Seriously though that is a good potential location for selling sets aimed a children and novelty items, and it’s only 10mins from where I live, the most important point lol 😛
Nichole, is train travel an option for you? I can recommend the quiet carriage on the Geelong-Melbourne service. The service terminates at Southern Cross, from where you can catch a metropolitan train to Melbourne Central (one station, providing the train travels in the right direction). It is a bit of an effort, but infrequent trips to one of these Lego shops keeps them special, and is better for the bank balance.