It comes at a time when retail in the central business district is heading upwards as the new international labels all open.

But there remains a concern that the shops need to change trading hours to keep up with the shifting demographics of the city.

According to Dominic Brown, head of South East Asia and Australia and New Zealand research at Cushman & Wakefield, the retail sector is in a constant state of evolution as it is exposed to a shifting array of cyclical and structural drivers.

Dr Brown said the development authorities, developers, landlords and retailers all need to continually asses these drivers and examine their impact on performance.

"From a cyclical perspective, headwinds persist. Over the past seven years and especially over the last 18 months, consumer sentiment has been weak," he said.

"The impact has been that the household savings ratio, which was into negative territory in 2006 (that is households were effectively spending on credit), strongly increased during the GFC and has remained stubbornly around 10 per cent ever since.

"Not surprisingly this has had a significant impact on certain aspects of discretionary expenditure.

"While comparatively severe, these cyclical issues arguably can be overcome with an improved economic outlook and strong political leadership."

More important from a long-term perspective are the structural issues that the retail sector is facing.

Landlords need to adapt

H&M Australia manager Hans Andersson​ also said that landlords need to open longer to cater for the different working hours we all keep.

Mr Andersson said, before the opening of the store in Pitt Street Mall on October 31, that the city has changed dramatically, with more residents and tourists, and the stores and landlords also need to adapt.

To whet the appetite of excited shoppers, H&M has installed a collection of beach-style boxes at the front of its new store, in what was previously the Glasshouse arcade. Next door will be a new Zara home collection, which will sit opposite the recently-opened Forever 21 fashion group.

Mr Andersson said the Sydney city store will be the eighth for the group across the country.

It opened in Melbourne's former GPO in April 2014 with red carpets and rock star-style barricades and more recently arrived in Macquarie Centre at Macquarie Park.

The other new stores will be in Eastland, Melbourne and Queen Street Mall, Brisbane.

Next year the group will also launch in New Zealand.

Dr Brown added that issues facing city-based retailers include changes to Australia's demography, the shift to higher density residential development, the increasing presence of international retailers and not least the rise of e-tailing.

"While these changes are slower to eventuate, they are more enduring and will continue to shape the industry for many years to come," Dr Brown said.

"Just as the retail sector responded to the trend of suburbanisation, through urban sprawl and increased car usage, with the development of shopping centres so too does it need to respond to the current drivers of change.

"In fact, the response to these past drivers has been so successful, it is arguable that they are a root cause of some problems evident today."