Just sayin’, via the ABC:
Launceston retailers are working out ways to bring more people into the city, after some stores experienced their worst trading month in years.
Many retailers in Launceston have described August as “challenging”, but said it was hard to pinpoint the exact reasons why.
Andrew Pitt, from one of city’s longest-running menswear stores Neil Pitts, said there were a lot of factors at play.
“My father has been involved in retail since 1949, and he thinks August was the quietest month in 70 years,” Mr Pitt said.
“People are focused on essentials. Employment figures are strong, but you only have to work an hour a week to be considered employed, so underemployment has been considered a factor.”
The most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show retail trade rose by 4.5 per cent across the state in the 12 months to July, with Tasmanian retailers turning over $543 million in July in trend terms.
But Launceston retailers appear to be missing out on much of the growth.
Steve Henty from Launceston business promotion group Cityprom said while some retail stores and many hospitality businesses continued to thrive, many retailers didn’t experience their usual August “upswing”.
“It was a challenging August, but that doesn’t mean that we’re significantly down on June and July,” Mr Henty said.
The Brisbane Street Mall has been undergoing a multi-million dollar transformation for the last six months, and the middle has been blocked off for construction.
Many retailers hope that once the mall is re-opened at the end of September, the city will be reinvigorated.
Parking has also been an ongoing discussion point in the city for years and many retailers are once again calling on the Launceston City Council to offer the first 90 minutes of parking free at its multi-storey car parks.
It’s understood the Council is investigating the implementation of a parking mobile app, which shoppers could use to pay for parking and top up time.
Jim Hughes And Sons Jewellers owner Robert Turner said he would like to see Cityprom improve its marketing of the city to help draw people in.
“August wasn’t very good [for us], and September so far has been a little bit worse actually,” Mr Turner said.
Tasmania is the one place house prices are still rising.
