Melbourne Central has unveiled a fresh 2026 retail lineup, and it is leading with two headline acts: an expanded Adidas flagship and Australia's first Miniso Friends store. The refresh reshapes the tenant mix at the Melbourne CBD shopping centre.
The anchor is that new Adidas flagship — a two-level, 1,205-square-metre store opening this winter that the brand is billing as its new "Halo" concept for Australia and New Zealand. It is a sizeable bet on bricks-and-mortar sport retail at a time when much of the category has drifted online.
Alongside it, Melbourne Central has secured Australia's first Miniso Friends store, a character-merchandise spin-off from the variety retailer Miniso. Around 80 per cent of its range is officially licensed character merchandise — plush toys, collectibles, blind boxes, stationery and lifestyle products — tapping the blind-box and character-collectibles trend that has taken off with younger shoppers.
The overhaul is not just fashion and sport. New food and drink tenants are part of the mix too, including the Melbourne cookie brand Bake Stand, the Louisiana-style Flappy's Fried Chicken, the healthy fast-casual chain Fishbowl and a Garfield: I Hate Mondays Lasagne Bar built around the comic-strip cat. In all, six new and upgraded retailers have opened at the centre in 2026.
"Melbourne Central's offerings are consciously curated to bring the best experiences and products to our retail community — with international exclusives to local favourites, we're always listening and hunting for the next big thing," said Andrew Drivas, the centre's general manager.
The additions land as Melbourne's CBD retail scene shows fresh signs of life. Nearby, luggage brand July is opening a new flagship at QV, and Melbourne Central itself has been steadily refreshing its tenant list through the year. Vertical, transport-linked centres like this one are leaning into experiential and exclusive stores to pull shoppers off their phones and back through the doors.
For shoppers, the upshot is more reasons to make the trip into town: a bigger Adidas, a first-of-its-kind Miniso Friends and a clutch of new places to eat, all under one roof in the heart of the city. For the centre, it is a wager that the right mix of exclusives and experiences still beats the convenience of a checkout cart.
