Iconic Australian retailer Strandbags set to depart Yeperenye Shopping Centre

Fourteen years after first opening its doors in the Red Centre, a beloved Australian brand is set to depart Alice Springs, citing changing business priorities as the reason for the store’s closure.

Strand Alice Springs, depicted in 2019. Picture: Google Street View

Fourteen years after first opening its doors in the Red Centre, a beloved Australian brand is set to depart Alice Springs, citing changing business priorities as the reason for the store’s closure.

Strandbags (which rebranded to Strand in November 2022) confirmed in a brief statement to the NT News on Wednesday that its last day of trade at Yeperenye Shopping Centre would be on April 10, having been a fixture on Alice Springs’ retail scene since October 2010.

“The closure of the Alice Springs store is part of a larger strategic business decision,” a spokeswoman said.

“We are so grateful to the Alice Springs Strand team, their commitment has been outstanding.”

The spokeswoman said that Strand’s other Northern Territory outlets – at Casuarina Square, The Gateway, and the Mitchell Centre – would be unaffected by the company’s changing priorities.

Yeperenye Managing Direct Owen Cole (middle), former Marketing Manager Nicole Walsh, and long-term retailer David Kemp, who has since retired, prepare to celebrate the 30th birthday of the shopping outlet. Alice Springs November 30 2017. Photo: EMMA MURRAY

Despite Strand’s determination to close its Alice Springs outlet, Yeperenye Shopping Centre’s managing director Owen Cole said he would be lobbying furiously to get the company to reverse its decision.

“We haven’t given up the ghost on Strand,” he said.

“They’ve indicated they are [leaving] but we’ve made substantial changes to our safety arrangements in Yeperenye.

Yeperenye Shopping Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. (Photo by: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

“We’ve got the most advanced CCTV probably in Australia.

“There are people in the Philippines who are monitoring that CCTV and reporting things as they happen in real time.

“I am not waving the white flag on Strand.”

Strand, founded in 1927, has more than 230 stores nationwide.

In announcing the rebrand, chief executive Felicity McGahan said the retailer was looking to shed its identity as a discount retailer and move more into the fashion and lifestyle space, trimming its product offerings while simultaneously launching new in-house lines.