McWhirters Retail faces a bleak time with more than a quarter of shops closed or on restricted hours

People are staying away from Fortitude Valley as retailers in one of the precinct’s most renowned buildings face a bleak future, with more than a quarter of shops either closed or on restricted trading times.

Retailers in what was once Fortitude Valley’s most iconic building say they have an uphill battle just to stay afloat as the Covid-19 pandemic transforms the workplace and keeps tourists away.

More than a quarter of shops in McWhirters Retail are either closed or on restricted trading hours as the Valley struggles in the face of lack of daytime foot traffic in what is now a renown night time entertainment precinct.

Lucky 1 convenience store owner and McWhirters Retail body corporate chairman Andong Zhu said conditions were “very, very bad”.

“Our normal business turnover is way down,” he said.

“Covid has been very bad for us with office workers at home and backpackers and interstate tourists are also missing so there’s not many people around.”

McWhirters retail body corporate chairman Andong Zhu inside his Lucky 1 convenience store.

Of the 57 tenancies counted by the Courier Mail inside or facing Brunswick Mall or Wickham St there were 12 vacancies and Mr Zhu says up to five food-related shops in McWhirters are only open a few hours every day or on the weekend, including his own, despite a direct connection with the Fortitude Valley train station.

“If it keeps going like this there will be more shops having to close,” he said.

The 125-year-old McWhirters building was once Brisbane’s most fashionable department store boasting a tea room and displays of manchester, fabric, luggage, millinery and homewares.

Opened by Scottish immigrant James McWhirter in 1896, McWhirters was Brisbane’s premier retail destination of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

At its height it boasted 50 departments of goods. McWhirters remained a retail icon until 1955 when it was taken over by Myer.

McWhirters in 1958 when Fortitude Valley was a major shopping destination.

In 1989 the property was redeveloped as McWhirters Marketplace, entailing extensive internal refurbishment.

In 1997 is was transformed again include apartments on the upper levels with the ground floor later being renamed McWhirters Retail with strata retail shops.

Mr Zhu, who has owned and operated Lucky 1 convenience store for 16 years, appealed to the Brisbane City Council for help with free parking to encourage more visitors and help with council rates.

“When I first came here 16 years ago there were only two convenience stores in the area and now there are more than 15 with some are open 24 hours a day and I don’t know how they make money,” he said.

“As a body corporate we have to make repairs but we try and reduce costs because the shops are not making money they face bankruptcy.”

The McWhirters building in Fortitude Valley.

QUT retail expert Dr Gary Mortimer said McWhirters was a shadow of its former glory as the Valley focused on night time entertainment.

“The area around McWhirters remains a fairly grimy and rundown area,” he said.

“There is really not a lot of retail draw cards and it is mostly an area for night entertainment.”

He said the area needed more investment to attract a greater volume of foot traffic.

“It is not an aesthetically pleasing area and while there are residential apartments in McWhirters there are not enough people to create adequate demand,” Dr Mortimer said.

He said the Valley was also in competition with more attractive precincts such as James St.

Alex Chen at his Farmers Market grocery store.

Farmers Market owner Alex Chen has operated his grocery in McWhirters for six years and said there has been a fruit and vegetable store on the site for 30 years with a very loyal following.

However, only he and his wife now run the store.

“It’s been very quiet since Covid and many of our customers are office workers and are now working from home and so they are not buying anything,” Mr Chen said.

“Restaurants and cafes are shut and there are thousands of people who used to work here but don’t. There’s no one around.”

NTP Jewellery store owner Thanh Ngoc Nguyen.

NTP Jewellery owner Thanh Ngoc Nguyen has been in the Valley for three decades and in McWhirters Retail for seven years.

“When I started in the Valley it was very good but for the last seven years its been down, down, down,” he said.

“There are less people in the Valley and business owners are moving away.”