Victor Mellick’s message to Cairns: CBD shopping is not dead
Victor Mellick’s latest CBD declaration is gathering momentum with traders in a fully-tenanted inner-city shopping precinct shouting from the rooftops.
Cairns
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UPDATE: Victor Mellick’s latest CBD declaration is gaining volume with traders in a fully-tenanted inner-city shopping precinct joining the chorus.
The veteran rag trader behind Victor Mellick Men’s Fashions has proclaimed the CBD open for business and that his operation has never been busier.
Now more traders have emerged to make their open-for-business operations known to a general public that appears to assume the city-centre is kaput.
Makin’ Whoopee Gift Shop co-owner Fany Saumure said business had taken a hit but the CBD strip that used to be known colloquially as East Street was now completely full.
“Our area (of Shields St) between Grafton and Sheridan streets is now all fully tenanted,” she said.
“There are still a lot of empty shops around but our block is all rented.”
The colourful slice of town has shops including Makin’ Whoopee, So Unforgettable Jewellery, Theo’s Shoe Hospital, Prodive and Lanna Thai Massage.
Restaurants include Jimmy’s Burgers, Hog’s Breath Cafe, Wild Thyme, Bellocale (closed for renovations) and Suan Suan, to name a few.
McGinty’s Irish Bar is still serving up the best Guinness in town, the Crown Hotel is lubricating the masses, and the strip’s final vacancy was recently filled by the new Crocodile and Cane Knife tattoo parlour.
Ms Saumure said Makin’ Whoopee had not had the kind of spectacular turnover Mr Mellick had professed but the customers they had were often surprised they were open.
The survival of CBD businesses, it seems, has been somewhat of a state secret.
“This weekend was a biut better because we were celebrating our fifth year in the shop, with a little party and some sales on Friday and Saturday,” Ms Saumure said.
“That’s saved us from the (slow) past two weeks, I think.
“But there are some people who are having trouble paying rent.
“My business partner and I worked the other day from 10am-5pm and only did two sales all day – and both were less than $30.”
It is a demoralising situation but Ms Saumure hoped getting the word out would help people realise all was not lost in the city’s engine room – and that excellent customer service was on offer for anyone who walked through the doors.
EARLIER: The city’s most stylish rag trader has a message he wants everyone in Cairns to hear – and you had better listen up.
Victor Mellick has been selling high-end men’s fashion in the Cairns CBD for the past 58 years, surviving a pilots’ strike, global financial crisis and any economic threats thrown his way.
He is still standing, smiling and selling dapper clobber after all these years – but something has him fired up.
Listening to talkback radio, reading the newspaper and hearing general chatter has him convinced most people think the Cairns CBD is utterly dead with only a few shops still clawing on for dear life.
Nothing could be further from the truth for the team at Victor Mellick Men’s Fashions.
“I reckon a lot of people think I’m closed,” Mr Mellick said.
“I have had the biggest turnover in the past 12 months that I’ve ever had. It’s because of the product and the people – it’s a destination.”
Mr Mellick’s business thrived on the back of a loyal local customer base despite an utter dearth of tourists and an underlying assumption the CBD was a cooked goose.
He wants the city to focus on its wins, to realise parts of town are still flourishing – and to inspire other traders to focus on the retail basics of quality product, customer service and attention to detail.
Selling incense, made-in-China junk and plastic nose rings would have been tough even before Covid, but Mr Mellick thought the aforementioned retail basics algorithm was a recipe for success.
He would love a high quality shopping precinct to emerge on Abbott St to make it even more of a destination.
He also had a message for Cairns Regional Council over its nearby Court House gallery.
“No one’s helping me, there are no support shops around me, there’s no entertainment over the road,” he said.
“The council’s done that white elephant over there but there’s nothing to come in for.
“They go and put these sorts of events on, but they’re not attracting people who want to spend money in town.
“Put things on but make sure you get the right people so they can spend money as well.”
But most of all, he was sick of all the doom.
“I just thought, oh lord, if I was driving into town I would think, ‘Why would you go in there? The town’s dead’,” he said.
“I’m here to let people know there are shops still open, and there are shops that are doing very well.”
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Originally published as Victor Mellick’s message to Cairns: CBD shopping is not dead
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