KEY POINTS:
Many independent New Zealand-owned retailers are looking to sell out as the economic downturn starts to hurt.
Stephen Alach, the founder and general manager of retailer Amazon, told the Property Council's retail conference in Auckland of a dire situation in his sector.
"Most independent retailers want out," Alach said, telling how he was being inundated with emails. "They're breaking even at best. A lot are losing and they won't renew their leases."
Alach said this was partly because spending had dropped so dramatically, major malls had taken trade away and many shop owners were extremely worried because of high interest rates, petrol and food prices which had all hit the sector.
Landlords wanted the same rent, even though retailing was down 60 per cent in some cases, he said.
"If landlords don't react soon, they will lose a lot of retailers," he predicted.
Amazon, founded in 1990, is New Zealand's largest surf retailer with 12 stores in regional shopping malls and seven in strip retail areas.
Billabong International of Australia, a major Amazon client, now owns the chain.
Alach said customers wanted shops to be exciting and different but new offerings such as Westfield Albany could have been better.
"I would have liked to see something ground-breaking," Alach said. "People want to have an experience."
Customers criticised malls as being all the same and Alach issued a challenge to the sector, saying it was time to come up with something entirely different, such as a stand-alone retail outlet where people could park outside the door.
John Bougen, a founder of the Dress-Smart chain, said he had just called five major apparel retailers asking them if their landlords had contacted them in these harder times.
All five said Bougen was the first retail landlord to call them.
