As of 30 October 2026, Haigh's Chocolates is preparing to open two more stores at Westfield Chermside and Westfield Carindale, extending the South Australian chocolatier's Queensland presence ahead of the Christmas trading period. The openings follow the brand's Brisbane debut at Westfield Mt Gravatt in August, which the company says drew hundreds of customers on opening day, and come after a A$120 million production and logistics facility was commissioned in South Australia.
Availability is the constraint, not demand
For a chocolatier, the limit on growth is rarely appetite; it is how much stock a store can hold at the right temperature and how far a production facility can ship without degrading the product. Opening two malls at once is a distribution decision as much as a retail one, and it only works when the facility can serve the added distance.
The A$120 million production and logistics facility in South Australia is the reason the Queensland push is possible now. Availability, in this sense, means the number of doors a brand can keep stocked at consistent quality, not the number of doors it would like to have. A store that runs out of the festive range in mid-December costs more than a delayed opening.
What a mall adds beyond footfall
Tasting as a conversion tool
Complimentary tastings are the brand's main conversion mechanism, and they need staff, space and a sink. A tenancy that looks cheap per square metre can be expensive if it cannot host a tasting counter, because the format loses the step that turns a passer-by into a repeat buyer.
Seasonal windows are short
Christmas trading concentrates demand into a few weeks, so a store that opens in November has to be productive almost immediately. Location selection for seasonal categories should weight December footfall far more heavily than annual averages, which produces a different ranking from the one used for year-round formats, and it means a tenancy that ranks poorly in July can still be the right store for a gift brand.
Distance from the facility
Chocolate is temperature-sensitive, so replenishment frequency matters more than in most grocery categories. Each new mall adds a delivery route, and a route that cannot run often enough will show up as out-of-stocks on the best-selling lines exactly when demand peaks.
Scoring mall tenancies for a seasonal brand
| Measure | What it captures | Threshold to test |
|---|---|---|
| Tasting capacity | Space and plumbing for a counter | Counter fits without blocking aisles |
| December footfall | Seasonal traffic rather than annual | Above the centre median |
| Replenishment frequency | Deliveries per week | Enough for peak weeks |
| Co-tenancy mix | Whether the centre draws gift shoppers | Premium food and gifting nearby |
| Storage temperature | Back-of-house conditions | Stable through summer |
The scorecard should put tasting capacity, December footfall and replenishment frequency in the first three rows, ahead of rent per square metre. A tenancy that scores well on all three can carry a higher rent; one that fails on replenishment will lose the season regardless of how good the location looks on a map.
It also helps to record what the centre already hosts. A mall with several premium food tenants draws the shopper a gift brand wants, while a centre dominated by discount apparel may deliver volume without the basket size that makes a confectionery tenancy pay, a distinction footfall counters cannot show.
Sequence for a two-mall rollout
Rolling out two malls in the same city at once is efficient for marketing and hard on operations, because both stores need trained staff and reliable replenishment in the same weeks. Sequencing one opening slightly ahead of the other gives the brand a chance to fix staffing and delivery problems before the second site inherits them.
FAQ
Why does availability matter more than demand for a chocolatier?
Because stock has to arrive at the right temperature and in the right quantity; a store that runs out in December loses sales it cannot recover later.
Is a mall tenancy always better than a high street store?
Not always. A mall adds footfall but also rent and fit-out constraints, and a format that needs a tasting counter may not fit a small tenancy.
How should seasonal stores be measured?
By December footfall and sales per square metre over the first twelve weeks, not by opening-day queues that reflect novelty rather than repeat demand.
What is the biggest operational risk of two openings at once?
Staffing and replenishment both peak in the same weeks, so a delay in either one affects two stores rather than one.
