12:00a.m. 20 May 2008

| By Blythe Seinor

Soaring rents could turn the world-renowned Mooloolaba Esplanade into a “ghost town”, a boutique owner claims.

Ferna Walsh from clothing boutique Unseen said she had been left no choice but to shut up shop after her landlord increased her rent by 10 per cent to just under $100,000 a year.

The rent on her Mooloolaba store is now $1500 a month more than it was when she moved in to the Zanzibar building two and a half years ago.

She said she had attempted to negotiate with Juniper Development Group to stay in the store, but to no avail.

“Basically for what the rent is and the way Mooloolaba is now, it’s so much quieter than it used to be and we can’t afford to stay here.”

She said the type of tourist to visit Mooloolaba had also changed in recent years, with more budget flights into the area.

“A lot of people who want to fly first class go to Port Douglas,” she said.

“People get their budget accommodation and they shop at Coles, people come to Mooloolaba and eat at the beach- they don’t shop and they don’t eat out.”

And she was not the only shop owner to feel the pinch.

A second boutique owner, who wished to remain anonymous, said she had tried to get out of her lease because she was losing money by staying open.

She said the 40 per cent rent increase she was dealt two years ago had been a huge blow to her business.

“Mooloolaba is going to be full of chain stores... the dollar stores are going to move in and the small boutiques and small traders will not survive,” she said.

Vesna Gavaric has owned Artisans in Mooloolaba for nearly four years and said she would definitely be forced to move if her rent was increased.

“I think it will be better for all of us, small business owners and the landlord, if we can actually make some kind of deal,” she said.

“No one asks for anything for free but understanding from both sides will work wonders.”

A spokesperson for the Juniper Development Group, which owns the majority of retail space in Mooloolaba, said the company had an “open door policy” for all of its tenants.

“If they want to meet with us we will meet with them, if they have proposals we will listen,” Retail Property Portfolio manager Lorraine Malloch said .

Ms Malloch said the company had no intention of making Mooloolaba a “two dollar shop destination”, and said the space owned by Juniper was consistently at 90- 95 per cent capacity.

She said retailers had to take responsibility for their own levels of success.

“If their retail store is stocking high-end fashion and making no sales, maybe they should be looking at different product lines to entice a sale,” she said.

Real Estate Institute of Queensland Sunshine Coast chair Jean Hamer said Juniper Development Group was able to set the prices high because it owned the majority of commercial space in Mooloolaba.

“The downside of somebody holding a majority of property is that they will leave a property vacant rather than put the wrong tenant mix in or a lower price.”

But Brendan Robins from commercial property company CBRE said rent in Mooloolaba was 20-30 per cent cheaper than Hastings Street, and was on comparison with other lifestyle strips such as Coolangatta and Broadbeach.

He said retailers in Mooloolaba got more for their money because a majority of the retail space faced the beach.

Who’s paying the most for a shop?

Hastings St- $2000 sq m to $3000 sq m per year

Mooloolaba- $1500 sq m to $2000 per year, up to $2300 for prime sites

Coolum- $700 sq m to $900 sq m per year in new developments

Caloundra- $300 sq m to $400 sq m per year

Source: CBRE, December 2007

Share this