Long-standing traders at Prahran Market say they are facing financial ruin after being forced out by management in a quest to modernise the commercial centre.
Sweet and Nut Shop owner Nick Hu, who has operated the 40-year-old business with his wife since 2012, is being evicted from the Stonnington Council-owned market in August after management refused to offer him a new lease.
Prahran market trader and owner of The Sweet and Nut Shop Hu Wan has been given his marching orders. He says he’s being forced out by management.Credit: Penny Stephens
Hu said market bosses had insisted that he upgrade his shop to be able to stay, but when he submitted renovation plans from two separate designers, the proposals were rejected. Instead, he was told he would have to vacate.
“I told the manager ‘If you’re not happy with this plan we can make adjustments, or find a designer that you’re happy with’. But they said they changed their mind, this was not our shop any more,” Hu said.
Hu was given an eviction notice in late June and will be moving to a four-week pop-up store elsewhere in the market from August 2. He feared he may be left with tens of thousands of dollars worth of unsold stock.
He said he was angry at how he had been treated.
“We have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into this business over the last decade … and have operated successfully,” he said.
“We are extremely upset and dumbfounded how the Prahran Market management could so easily destroy a business that has run for over four decades and become a pillar of the community.
“We even called the council mayor and haven’t had any answers.”
Prahran Market chief executive Noel Dempsey said the market and its tenants needed to evolve to meet the needs of shoppers and a shifting demographic, tilting towards more young professionals under 40 with no kids.
“The expiry of any lease is a chance to review and evaluate every offer we have in the market and ensure it is both in line with our vision and also has an appropriate level of investment to look fresh,” he said.
A City of Stonnington spokeswoman said the council had appointed management to run the centre and make independent decisions about tenancies.
“The entire Prahran retail precinct has continued to be impacted by a change in customer behaviours since the pandemic, and council expects the market’s management to improve the Prahran Market as a valuable community-owned asset by ensuring its commercial success,” she said.
Manny Jardim, owner of Cheese Shop Deli, is being evicted from early September. Jardim and his wife bought the business for $240,000 when his family migrated to Australia in 2017. His lease is also not being renewed, and Jardim said he was never given an option to stay by renovating the store.
His shop will be taken over by a Gippsland-based provedore.
Prahran market traders and owners of The Cheese Shop Deli Manny and Maria Jardim say they’re being forced out. Credit: Penny Stephens
“I’ve invested a lot of time and money in the store, about $300,000 if not more, and it took me seven years to build a customer base … and basically, I’m getting kicked out,” he said.
“They just took my store and gave it to somebody else just like that.”
Jardim said the eviction had destroyed his family’s plans.
“We’re disappointed and upset,” he said. “I’ve never missed a month of rent. I’ve tried my best and hardest.
“Me and my wife will be unemployed from September. We had a bit of money saved up so we could buy a house this year. Now everything is gone. I’m walking away with nothing.”
Other long-time traders also no longer operate at the market after being offered terms they were not comfortable with.
Jardim fears the market is becoming too “fancy” and feeling more like a shopping centre.
Shoppers have been rallying to support traders by writing to the council and market management to oppose recent evictions.
One shopper, Claudia, told The Age: “I am not in favour of the market going too upmarket, it is gradually losing its identity.”
“The Cheese Shop Deli has some of the lowest prices in the market. We wonder if this is why they are being forced out.”
Dempsey said the market generally wanted to be supportive of traders and insisted management had “behaved appropriately and fairly”.
“That doesn’t mean that there aren’t difficult decisions that need to be made over time to ensure we have the right mix of products and traders,” he said.
Dempsey said anyone purchasing a business knew that there was no guarantee a lease would be extended and it was normal to expect traders to refresh their shop at the end of a lease.
“We’re not picking on tenants,” he said.
Dempsey said foot traffic at the market was down 2.7 per cent last financial year, partly due to disruption from construction at the site. The council is about halfway through $12 million in renewal works.
Dempsey said the market ran at a small operating surplus and to attract more people and stay relevant, it needed to offer interesting experiences and products.
“Markets are definitely changing,” he said.
Dempsey said he had heard from customers disappointed to be losing certain traders.
“Once we have explained the circumstances and the need to continue to evolve our retail mix, most of the customers I have communicated with understand,” he said.
Hu’s shop will be combined with its neighbouring stall and leased to a pet supplies business.
“Many other businesses are being squeezed by management to either cough up expensive renovations or face termination of lease,” he said.
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