Sure and as I mentioned, they have done a lot of this already. They inserted intrusive internal escalators at either end of the centre because they claimed the escalators, stairs and lifts in the middle were not enough to encourage customers to visit the upper levels. I still see vacant shops up there after the escalators were installed.
They claimed the original heritage shopfronts, signs and paint scheme made the centre look old fashioned. I mean that was entirely the point. They flattened out the shop windows, they painted the walls in pastel colours and made every sign a generic modern glass & light fitting.
They replaced the original external awnings with flattened, modern awnings. Did these âimprovementsâ bring in more customers? Why then do they still need to make changes to supposefly attract customers?
If youâve still got vacant store fronts, youâre not in a unique situation and I donât think replacing glass is going to fix it. Retail is in all sorts at the moment. People donât wanna go into the city, or even to a surbaban/outer metro shopping centre as much anymore.
Itâs much more convenient to shop at home in whatever manner of dress you like and have it delivered to you at home (or, if youâre like me and donât trust drunken bogans and dopey delivery drivers, use a parcel locker). Not to mention, you can find stuff a lot cheaper (even if the quality is a little suspect) through certain sites like AliExpress and its ilk.
Not to mention, youâre dealing with less of the following:
people who have impromptu reunions right in the middle of a narrow corridor and block everyone
people who do not know how turn signals, road signs and speed limits work
people who have all the customer service skills of a 3 year old masquerading as a certain world leader
parking issues (cost of, lack of, peopleâs inability to do so properly)
window shoppers who block peopleâs paths. Particularly older people with spatial awareness of a rock (as demonstrated here)
Public transport when it goes tits up (as it does often in NSW, because NSW).
And other reasons I canât be arsed to think of.
Vicinity Centres and Link REIT (amongst other landlords) might want to significantly lower their expectations re: the cost of rent as well. You wonât attract anyone if your rent is too much for the average business. You want the places filled? Consider lowering the rent.
Quite true. There are a lot of shopping centres which have vacant shops and landlords just donât get it. Seems like theyâd rather write it off as a loss for tax savings than actually find tenants.
Intrrnally, the stained glass above the shopfronts also recreates the original design. However, the original building didnât have these ugly high rise escalators dominating the spaces or the modern glass signs.
A âghost storeâ purporting to be located in Bondi claims its co-founder was shot during the antisemitic attack and is using the tragedy to attempt to sell clothes, bathers and bags.
âIsla & James is closing because of the Bondi Beach tragedy,â the website claims, underneath an image it says is of the shopâs founders, which appears to be AI-generated.
The website was created on December 23, nine days after the terror attack
Both companies have roughly the same number of stores (just under 200) across Australia, although Sushi Hub is more widely known in NSW, where it has more than 90 stores, while Sushi Sushi has a stronger presence in Victoria (95 stores). Both have similar goals to expand domestically (500 stores by 2036 for Sushi Hub, 450 by 2035 for Sushi Sushi), and both aspire to have a strong international presence.
Much of Australiaâs takeaway sushi market is dominated by independent mum-and-pop stores, which account for about 65-70 per cent of sushi stores. Put together, Sushi Sushi and Sushi Hub account for about 15 per cent of all sushi outlets, but about 40 per cent of total takeaway sushi sales.
A third player, Sushi Izu, has more than 240 locations, but are almost exclusively within Woolworths supermarkets.
YouTube Music is giving me Cadbury Easter Egg advertisements before songsâŚ
FOR PETEâS SAKE ITâS NOT EVEN VALENTINEâS DAY YET. Advertise Roses Choccies or something, not that.
My retail predictions for 2026 (Newcastle/Hunter region):
Toronto Town Square expands to include a Kmart and additional specialties
Myer Charlestown downsizes to just the top floor with Harris Scarfe and Uniqlo taking over the bottom
Target Kotara closes and either Big W or Harris Scarfe replaces it
A major expansion of Jesmond Village is announced which will see Kmart, Coles and approx. 50 new stores added to it
Decathlon opens in the former Belmont Bunnings
Cameron Park shops expand to include a Coles and/or a Kmart or Big W
A major retail development for Chisholm/Thornton is announced which will include the regionâs second Myer store and the regionâs first ever Cheap As Chips store
Is there demand for a Harris Scarfe? I went into the Melbourne store ages ago when visiting and was left surprised.. It was pretty empty too at Southern Cross Station.
Canât see Officeworks going into any shopping centre. The format doesnât work. They are a big box store. I know Castle Hill Homemakers has a Officeworks inside one of the buildings but thatâs an exception.
I know that Kotara store, I canât see a Big W going in there. Mayne HS, or they reconfigure it to add more stores.
I canât work out where theyâre going to get more space for those stores in Jesmond. They just lost an Aldi upstairs. Plus theyâre in close proximity to Glendale and Kotara.
Would you believe it? Woolworths branded products are sold in Hong Kong. They are only available in Fusion, a large size supermarket operated by ParknShop which stocks many imports.
