Optus Bourke Street Flagship

Optus set out to reposition itself as more than a telco. As the offer expanded beyond handsets and SIM cards into connected devices, smart homes and digital services, the challenge became how to demonstrate technology whose value is difficult to understand on a shelf. The flagship needed to turn an increasingly intangible proposition into something customers could see, experience and understand.

Its Bourke Street location added another challenge: serving customers who wanted fast, frictionless transactions alongside those who came to explore and discover. The new format needed to accommodate both without compromising either experience.

Greater Group organised the flagship around moments in customers’ lives rather than traditional product categories. Gaming, health and fitness, home office, security, living, music and business became immersive zones where connected technology could be experienced in context, allowing the environment itself to explain how products work together.

The customer journey was designed with equal flexibility. Mobile point-of-sale and task-based service settings removed reliance on a traditional counter, while movable central fixtures allowed the store to transform for launches, events and future technologies.

The concept also draws directly from Melbourne. Its planning references the city’s laneways, lighting takes cues from the tram network, and reclaimed brick, local furniture and artist collaborations give the flagship a distinct sense of place. Greater Group delivered the project across design, procurement and build, retaining and repurposing existing elements wherever possible while opening the heritage skylights to bring natural light back into the space.

The flagship transformed Optus’ broader proposition into an experience customers could understand intuitively. Rather than presenting connected technology as a collection of products, the store demonstrated how it fits into everyday life, turning an abstract ecosystem into tangible experiences across home, work, health and entertainment. The result is a flagship that works as both a high-performing transactional environment and a destination for discovery, while providing a flexible platform that can continue to evolve as technology and customer expectations change.