Chapel St: Melbourne’s hottest shopping strip now resembles a retail graveyard

WHAT was once Melbourne’s most thriving shopping strip now resembles a ­retail graveyard, with dozens of shops closing their doors as trade continues to slump. So, what’s the problem?

Chapel St now resembles a ­retail graveyard. Picture: David Caird

IT was once Melbourne’s hottest shopping strip, but Chapel St now resembles a ­retail graveyard, with dozens of shops closing their doors as trade continues to slump.

There are 36 shops vacant or sporting “for lease” signs along the once-bustling thoroughfare between Toorak Rd in South Yarra and Commercial Rd in Prahran.

Chapel Street Precinct ­Association president John Lotton said that while business had slowed in that stretch, the once-derelict Windsor end had been ­­“re-enlivened” with a trendy dining and bar scene.

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“They’re targeting the cool kids … the scene is bang-on for the hipster type,” Mr Lotton said of the southern end.

He said landlords had been slow to move with the market and offer more affordable leases. He said rents in Prahran were now lower than those in High St, Armadale — another popular strip.

Store owner Di Schwartz said she was shutting up shop and moving, after more than a decade on the strip.

“Chapel St just isn’t what it used to be,” she said.

“Tourists used to come here to shop for high-end fashion, but it’s a different market now and business isn’t good.”

Runway Secrets store owner Di Schwartz is relocating her store to Bourke St in the CBD. Picture: David Caird

Closing down signs are on many vacant Chapel St shop windows. Picture: David Caird

Ms Schwartz said the rent for her fashion store was too high and foot traffic was ­almost non-existent.

“I love Chapel St,” she said. “We have the potential to be great, so it’s sad to be leaving.”

Ms Schwartz will close her doors next week and move to the city, where trade at her three other shops is booming.

Construction work on the site of the Prahran carpark has also had an effect on foot traffic, with reduced parking ­available.

Mr Lotton agreed, but said there were plenty of “blue skies ahead” to return the zone to its former retail health.

Stores along Chapel St are shutting up shop. Picture: David Caird

Katherine Sampson, who owns popular burger joint Hello Sam, said business north of Toorak Rd was thriving.

“Chapel St has evolved over the past four years … it’s no longer just a fashion destination,” she said.

“It’s doubled in size so of course, there’ll be vacancies. I don’t know why that area (between Toorak and Commercial roads) is quiet, there’s no reason for it,” she said.

Ms Sampson, who is opening a juice bar on Chapel St in July to complement her burger bar, said there were huge ­opportunities for businesses to seize some of the vacant shop spaces on the strip.

“Now is the time to open up. I’ve got 20-30 spaces to choose from and landlords are going to offer very reasonable rent to get me in,” she said.

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