Manly: Could a discount store be about to move into new retail development on the Corso?
There are rumours that one of the businesses moving into the newly renovated strip of shops on Manly’s Corso – is a discount store.
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Rumours are circulating that a big brand discount shop will take up at least three units of a new prime retail development on Manly’s Corso.
Both St Matthews Church, owner of the seven retail units, and the possible new operator, have refused to comment on the whispers.
Project manager and church spokesman Tim Evans suggested in 2018 the shops would be filled with good quality clothing brands not currently in Manly and maybe a good quality coffee shop.
Mr Evans told the Manly Daily at the start of the renovations that the shops looked like a “dog’s breakfast” and he was looking to bring the standard up and fill the retail space with a higher class of tenant.
The shops have undergone a smart makeover with a heritage style tiled frontage and a copper covered awning.
“We will be looking for iconic brands to move in, not $2 shops or surf shops, there’s enough of those already,” he said at the time.
However, this week he said he was still looking to fill four of the seven retail units, and had been negotiating with some national and local brands, but it was a “difficult retail market” at the moment.
He would not comment on any signings other than to say he was pleased to have attracted a “big company”.
A source told the Manly Daily the new tenant could be looking for a space of up to 400 sqm, which would take up around three of the current units.
Mr Evans responded to questions about whether people would be disappointed in the signing, by saying that it was a matter of personal opinion and to add to that “we have a bank at the end of that equation”.
One of the previous tenants in that strip, Malouf’s Pharmacy, which moved across the road while the shops were renovated, had an option to move back in after the refit.
However, owner George Malouf this week confirmed that the family-run business will remain in its current spot for the “long haul”.
The build has suffered a series of setbacks and delays after the builder Clifford Constructions went into administration in April, causing the $12m project to blow out by $1.3m.
Mr Evans said the building, which has a new basement and top floor with a 180-seat auditorium will be finished, thanks to extra donations from churchgoers and money the church has found from its reserves and other sources.
He said the shops should be completed in the next few weeks and the rest of the build by November – a year after his earliest estimation.
Mr Evans said the community will benefit from some amazing new facilities such as the auditorium, which will be available to the community.
“The good news is we will be able to open another facility at the end of the year, a facility for the community as well,” he said.
Brian Walker from The Retail Doctor Group said the strip of retail was a prime site in Manly.
He said fashion and jewellery retailers had really suffered during COVID-19 and were in decline.
He predicted that COVID-19 will accelerate the decline of unique retailers who won’t be able to compete with national brands, some of which are happy to take a small frontage on the Corso because with the amount of tourist foot traffic, at the very least it was good advertising.
He said he feared with the tricky retail market at the moment Manly’s “village charm” could be threatened with the “homogenising of the Corso area”.
Mr Walker said he would like to see the council and the chamber of commerce work with landlords for “nice precinct planning”.