McWhirters Fortitude Valley retail precinct still struggling four years after Covid

Once Brisbane’s most fashionable department store, boasting a tea room and lavish displays, this landmark retail centre is struggling to attract customers amid depressing scenes of decline and decay. SEE THE PHOTOS/VIDEO

Four years after Covid landmark Fortitude Valley retail centre McWhirters, once among Brisbane’s most popular department stores, is still struggling to attract customers.

A walk-through by Quest Newspapers on Tuesday, April 16, found more than a dozen shops still shuttered by mid-morning and at least half a dozen for-lease signs.

Fewer than 20 customers, most in the food court or small eateries, could be seen.

A homeless woman was begging for money outside the main entrance on the corner of Brunswick and Wickham streets.

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

The escalator has been closed for repairs. Picture: Richard Walker

Inside the retail level. Picture: Richard Walker

These days non-food tenants are dominated by shops such as Cash Converters, Vinnies and Red Cross secondhand outlets, a Dollars and Sense discount variety store, tobacconist, vape shop and half-a-dozen hairdresser and beauty salons.

There is also a Chaplain Watch and Night Space on the Wickham St frontage.

Upstairs, many of the upmarket residential units were rented or had owner-occupiers and were still in excellent condition.

But the ground-floor retail, the epicentre of Brisbane’s shopping district until the rise of suburban shopping centres in the late 1950s, was a different story.

The iconic escalators at the main entrance have been cordoned off for repairs and graffiti was sprayed over some of the distinctive brick exterior walls.

The near-empty food hall on Tuesday morning, April 16.

Plans only two years ago for a university next door and new bars, retail and residential buildings nearby have stalled or been deferred.

It had been hoped those changes would spark a revival after Covid slammed traders.

At that time more than a quarter of shops in McWhirters Retail were either closed or on restricted trading hours.

A McWhirters shop owner said they faced the same issues as traders in Brisbane’s CBD, including in the Wintergarden and Uptown (formerly the Myer Centre), who have struggled since Covid as more office staff opted to work from home.

They also were dealing with problems from a major renovation in the 1990s including frequent water leaks, while homeless people had taken to camping under the escalator.

Where have all the customers gone? Mid-morning in the retail level on Tuesday, April 16.

Rising interest rates, inflation, the economic downturn and staff shortages have added to the woes of retailers in the Valley and CBD.

The 125-year-old McWhirters building is also heritage listed and shops are strata titled, making it difficult to get agreement on upgrades and other changes.

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, before the property was redeveloped as McWhirters Marketplace in 1989 with extensive internal refurbishment.

In 1997 it was transformed again to include apartments on the upper levels.