BATHURST’S newest shopping centre is struggling to fill an increasing number of store vacancies.
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Homeart and Jeans West have already closed their Bathurst City Centre shops and Wallace Bishop jewellers and Lenard’s chicken shop are set to close in the first week of March.
This comes after one of the centre’s “mini major” stores, Harris Farm Markets, relocated in July last year, leaving a significant vacancy which has not been filled.
Harris Farm Markets was a major drawcard for the centre and its move appears to have had an effect on traffic flow through the centre.
The reasons behind the closures are varied, but a common theme among retailers is that spiralling overheads including rent and electricity are making it difficult to stay afloat.
When contacted about the closures and the continued vacancy in the former Harris Farm shop, a spokesperson for the Novion Property Group – which manages Bathurst City Centre – said “we choose not comment at this time”.
Bathurst Lenard’s Rick Connolly said he was devastated to shut his shop but said he had little choice.
Mr Connolly said he originally signed a six-year lease with the shopping centre but when it came to renew his new lease in March, his rent had increased 40 per cent making it no longer feasible to stay in business.
“I have no choice. I’ve had to sell my house to pay for everything because I have a 10-year franchise in place and even though I’m closing the store I still have to pay franchisee fees,” he said. Mr Connolly is now looking for work.
He said many of his customers were upset he was closing his doors but the business had been hit hard since Harris Farm’s departure.
“There are so many empty shops in Bathurst at the moment – all you have to do is look up and down the main street. I really don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said.
Bathurst Chamber of Commerce president Stacey Whittaker said she had heard a number of stores were considering their future in the shopping centre, with many saying they could no longer afford the rent.
She said this was a common problem in shopping centres owned by big corporations.
“They tend to think if one goes, someone else will come along,” she said. “But this isn’t always the case.”
Mrs Whittaker said she thought the shopping centre, which was dubbed “the future of Bathurst shopping” when it opened in March 2009, may have been built “a little too early”.
She said online shopping had had a massive impact on local retailers and despite trying to educate people about the benefits of shopping locally, people were still going online because it was cheaper.