The North American discount department store behemoth has been scouting for prime locations following its purchase of discount retailer Trade Secret from the Gazal Corporation for more than $80 million two years ago.

T.J. Maxx manages more than 1000 stores across America and, along with its online operation, is the US's largest clothing retailer.

The group is believed to be currently fitting out a 2000 square metre retail space in Kingston Central Plaza at Moorabbin Airport in the city's southern suburbs.

Kingston Plaza is owned by diversified property giant Goodman Property Group and boasts 15,740 sqm of large format space with big brand retailers The Good Guys, Best Friends Pets, House of Golf, Aldi and Tasman Meat butchers.

Neither Goodman nor the agents behind the deal, CBRE, would confirm the retailer's presence in the centre, but BusinessDay understands it will be T.J. Maxx.

CBRE's Chris Parry said a North American retailer had taken space in the Kingston Plaza but would not confirm their name.

"International large format retailers are continuing to target Melbourne as a key market for expansion in Australia – due in large part to a growing population that supports a strong retail environment," Mr Parry said.

A number of foreign brands were looking to expand in Australia this year, he said.

Goodman will grow Kingston Plaza's retailing capacity by a further 4,240 sqm this year, with work expected to finish in November.

A spokeswoman for T.J. Maxx through subsidiary TJX Australia said the group had "made no announcements of this nature."

Australia's capital cities have witnessed the arrival of a retailing juggernaut, including fast fashion stores H&M, Zara and Uniqlo, and may soon get a glimpse of another global giant, Amazon.

The cutthroat competition has driven well-known local brands Marcs, David Lawrence, Rhodes & Beckett and Herringbone into administration.

The large format retail sector, typically large homemaker stores lined around a central carpark, is also set to experience a massive shakeup with the mid-year opening of hundreds of new stores in 700,000 sqm of shopspace formerly occupied by Woolworths' failed hardware chain Masters.

The substantial increase in retailing floor space comes at a time when consumer spending is slowing, says research firm BIS Shrapnel.

Large format centres reported strong rental growth and lower vacancies last year.

BIS Shrapnel's latest Large Format Retail Property report warns that these buoyant conditions will not be sustained.

Key drivers of consumer demand for household goods - which accounts for the majority of floorspace in large format centres - have started to weaken, the report states.

The sluggish economic growth and subdued consumer sentiment were likely to continue for some time with housing commencements and alterations and additions activity peaking, BIS maintains.

"The larger retailers and chains are holding up better, but they aren't immune," the report's author Maria Lee said.

The reformatting of former Masters stores by Home Consortium would add " several years' demand" to supply of large format centres.

"At a time of softening demand, the sector could have trouble absorbing the floorspace and forecasts that rental growth will weaken," it warns.