Australia’s leading bookseller, Dymocks has officially opened its new flagship Rundle Mall store, following a $1.5 million fit out of the historic Regent Theatre.
With nearly 1,000 square metres of floor space, Dymocks Adelaide will be South Australia’s largest bookstore. It occupies the former Regent Theatre, which extends across the entire first floor above the Regent Arcade shopping arcade.
As part of the fit out, Dymocks has honoured the theatre’s cultural prominence by maintaining the intricate wall and ceiling arabesque decorations and restoring 10 pieces of former theatre furniture and placing it around the store for customers to enjoy.
The new Dymocks Adelaide will extend beyond books, to include what claims to be Rundle Mall’s largest giftware range including bookish gifts, stationery, games, and puzzles.
Dymocks managing director, Mark Newman said the new store continued the bookseller’s more than 30-year history in Rundle Mall.
“We made a commitment when our former franchisee Mandy Macky retired to maintain Dymocks’ presence in the city and find a new home for a store that had served generations of book lovers,” he said.
“As an iconic Australian brand with a rich history, we’re excited that an equally well-known and much-loved building will be home to our new South Australian flagship. We have worked closely with award-winning Adelaide architects Grieve Gillett Andersen to preserve the building’s features while creating an innovative fitout that sets a new benchmark for bookselling and creates a destination for book lovers and heritage buffs alike.
“With more than 25,000 individual titles and a team of expert booksellers boasting more than a century of combined book retailing experience, we guarantee we can help our customers find the book they’ve been looking for or recommend one they won’t be able to put down.”
Rundle Mall program manager, Nicky Smith said the new flagship store reaffirmed the Mall’s reputation as South Australia’s premier retail destination.
“Dymocks is one of the many local, national and international brands to have flagship stores in Rundle Mall. We know Dymocks has a strong following of loyal customers and anticipate that this new store will attract book lovers of all ages into the precinct to shop in Rundle Mall,” she said.