Indooroopilly Shopping Centre loses 30 retailers in eight months

A ONCE hyped luxury shopping destination is in danger of becoming a ghost town, with almost four shops closing each month.

INDOOROOPILLY Shopping Centre is in danger of becoming a ghost town as the once hyped luxury shopping destination faces a mass exodus of retailers, with almost four shops closing each month.

More than 30 retailers including big names such as Ella Bache, French Twist, Sublime Hairdressing and Argyle Jewellers have exited the precinct over the past eight months, revealed in analysis by The Courier-Mail of the centre’s store directory.

The centre has been battling a retailer revolt after more than 110 store owners and managers joined a movement to oust centre management last year in an effort to fix the centre’s parking woes and encourage shoppers to return to the problem-plagued area.

More than 30 retailers have left Indooroopilly Shopping Centre in the last eight months. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Now a former employee who worked in the centre told The Courier-Mail centre management will have new fires to put out as many retailers’ three-year leases come up for renewal over the next six months.

“You’ll start to see a lot of retailers not re-signing their leases or negotiating better agreements, some have already started to filter out,” the employee, who spoke to The Courier-Mail on the condition of anonymity, said.

Retailers such as Argyle Jewellers marketing manager Sarah Arbiter said: “Indooroopilly is a beautiful shopping centre” but did not “recover from the debacle related to its parking issues.”

Parking dramas have continued to plague the centre since its multi-million dollar refurbishment which saw customers trapped for more than an hour last weekend.

Indooroopilly has endured parking dramas since its refurbishment. Picture: Annette Dew

Ms Arbiter added that although big players such as H & M received marketing support, smaller players missed out, causing a hit to their sales.

“Argyle Jewellers are a quality, independently-owned jewellery store with over 30 years experience and Indooroopilly Shopping Centre should have been more supportive of a family-owned business, Queensland-owned business and an employer of some seven local staff members,” she said.

“We have no wish to get involved in a slanging match with the management of Indooroopilly Shopping Centre but if shopping centres want to have a ‘point of difference’ they need to include small businesses — not just the big players. Otherwise they just end up looking the same as every other shopping centre.”

Brisbane restaurateur TJ Peabody also closed his Nantucket restaurant on Station Rd last week after three years of trading as the 130-seat venue wasn’t drawing enough diners.

Mr Peabody said just 1500 customers came through the doors on average per week, about 25 per cent below what the restaurant needed to remain viable.

He made the decision to exit the dining precinct after “amicable” discussions with centre management, choosing to relocate his restaurant under a new name, Nativo Kitchen and Bar at The Barracks.

“The problem was that the busiest time for us was when the shopping centre was closed,” he said.

“Thursday night, late night trading when everyone was there was one of my quietest nights.

“Part of the problem what that the location was outside the centre as well, which we thought would be a benefit for people looking for a relief from shopping but it didn’t work out that way. A lot of our customers weren’t coming to shop.”

TJ Peabody closed Nantucket Kitchen & Bar because it wasn’t drawing enough diners. Picture: Mark Cranitch

Indooroopilly Shopping Centre’s general manager Glen McAnulty acknowledged the challenges but said the centre was committed to refreshing its offering.

He said several new stores including Sheridan and Lord of the Wings had been added to the directory in recent months, and management were “listening to our customers and will action change to introduce a fresh and new retail offer”.

“Retail is a very dynamic industry where customers vote with their feet and their wallets. We fully embrace this challenge,” Mr McAnulty said.

“In the coming weeks we will be announcing further new retailers.

“We are working closely with retailers who are experiencing retail sales challenges and are currently rolling out a range of initiatives to address their specific needs.”

The latest dramas come as BCM Advertising dumped their account with Indooroopilly last month due to “differences of opinion”. Indooroopilly also ended its contract with its previous public relations firm Style Counsel this year.

BCM managing director Paul Cornwell said in a statement “we have worked with Indooroopilly since early 2013 when the $450 million refurbishment of the centre began.

“We have done some great work which we’re very proud of and have enjoyed our partnership with the Indooroopilly Shopping Centre client but a new management and marketing team have arrived recently and we differ in our approach to working together so we decided to move on,” he said.

“In this case we felt that our role would be diminished and that our contribution wouldn’t be valued as it has been in the past.”

STORES THAT HAVE CLOSED

1. American Nails

2. Argyle Jewellers

3. Brush Bar

4. Cabassi and Co

5. Cafe Le Net

6. Catalogue

7. Crown Jewellers

8. David Lawrence

9. Dick Smith

10. Dodo

11. Ella Bache

12. Fish Depot

13. French Twist

14. Hungry Jacks

15. JAG

16. Jon Le Court

17. Mink

18. Mobile Tech

19. Mozi

20. Nantucket

21. Nitrogenie

22. Ole

23. Olive and Co

24. Pita Pit

25. Pumpkin Patch

26. Sublime Hairdressing

27. Sushi deli

28. The Works

29. Tom Browns

30. Wild

31. Victoria Station