Merry Hill Shopping Centre Hill included several multiple stores including clothing retailers: C&A and Littlewoods, general department store British Home Stores and supermarket chain Sainsburys, as well as numerous smaller retailers. On 23 October 1990, Marks & Spencer opened a new department store at Merry Hill (the final new store to open at the complex), replacing the recently closed stores in nearby Dudley and West Bromwich. The retailer had agreed to become tenants of a store at Merry Hill during the summer of 1989, but had hoped to keep their Dudley and West Bromwich stores open alongside it; however the declining trade in both
Toombul Shopping Centre were cautious about opening so close. Another problem was Westfield was an unknown developer outside of New South Wales, making it hard to attract retailers. Frank Lowy and Donald Petrie resorted to walking the streets of Brisbane's CBD to find retailers to occupy the centre. It paid off as the centre was 100% leased at opening. Due to Westfield's relationship with Coles (having built some Coles stores in Sydney), the retailer was committed from the beginning of the development to opening a store at the centre. The centre opened as Westfield Shopping Town Toombul on Wednesday 11 October 1967. It