Goodman Group capitalising on online retail growth

Goodman Group, the world's second largest developer of industrial properties, is capitalising on the wave of demand for warehouse space brought on by the growth of online retailers such as

Amazon,

Alibaba Group and

Net-a-Porter.

As published in The Australian's Weekend Property, Goodman has so far provided over 700,000 sqm of space for Amazon's warehouse and distribution centres across the world with 460,000 sqm leased in 2011 alone.

"In the last couple of years, we've built nine warehouses for Amazon alone," Chief Executive Greg Goodman told The Australian.

Of the $2 billion of development work that Goodman Group has underway across the world, about $600 million is for online retailers.

Recent deals include warehouse and distribution space in Hong Kong for with Net-a-Porter and Alibaba Group.

In Australia, companies such as Ozsale and GraysOnline - once ambitious start-ups that have now become household names - are driving demand. Last year, Goodman signed a five year lease to Ozsale for 17,105 sqm at their Smithfield Distribution Centre in western Sydney.

According to the company, the growth has accelerated in the past two to three years.