Retail struggles on Ponsonby Rd: ‘This is more severe for us than Covid’

By Mahvash Ikram of RNZ

Auckland’s Ponsonby Rd is the quietest it has been in decades, with a lack of foot traffic and high rents putting off new businesses, retailers say.

One shop owner told RNZ turning a profit now was harder than during Covid, while another said if things did not change, he would have to close as early as next year.

Anna Lim had been running her Garden Party gift store on Ponsonby Rd for 30 years.

She said retailers were not as busy as they used to be.

“This is more severe for us than Covid. I think people are being really hard hit by the cost of living and then Covid.

“We had very quiet times, but we had relief from landlords and we had relief from the Government.”

She said it was not just customers avoiding the area.

Rising rental prices were making Ponsonby Rd less appealing for new businesses.

“That the rents are so high you don’t get a whole lot of interesting younger people. What happens in times like this is that when a lot of shops and businesses shut, the landlords have to lower their rent.

“But there’s a couple of really big players and they’ve got so much money, they don’t need to put their rents down.”

Ponsonby’s Chapel Bar and Bistro went into receivership, though kept operating, and SPQR announced the end of its three-decade run and went into liquidation.

Martin Leech, who had been publishing the Ponsonby News magazine for the past 20 years, said the impact on the veteran bars was making other businesses concerned about their survival.

“I think people are just quite worried at the moment about their future, and if they can still stay in business, that’s the feedback that I get – ‘we hope we’re still going to be around’. You know, there’s very little foot traffic compared to what there used to be.

“And that’s concerning quite a few different businesses that I talked to.”

In May, a man was killed after a shooting on Ponsonby Rd and in June three people were hit by a car in what police called a “mass disorder” incident.

Leech said some people might be avoiding the street because of safety concerns.

Ravi Pathare ran the Magnation bookstore. He first set up shop in 2008 and said foot traffic was nowhere close to what it was.

“We would maybe get about 70 to 80 people coming in every day.

“Our conversion rate used to be pretty high – around 60 to 70% of those people would end up buying.

“Now I’m lucky if I can get 15 people through the store and many of them just browse,” he said.

The lack of customers meant revenue was plunging.

“Turnover now is 30% of what it was about eight years ago.

“But yes, there is there are other extraneous contributing factors as well, which are the market forces and consumer confidence and that’s plummeted right down to the bottom.

“And I’ve never seen it so bad in my 21 years of retail trading.”

Pathare said if things did not change, he may have to close down for good when his lease came up.

“It’s more like a labour of love for us right now, but if the tide does not turn we have to basically close shop,” he said.

Things were not much better for Roy from Mutiara Malaysian Restaurant.

He said not everyone could afford to dine in Ponsonby restaurants, and now many of those customers who could pay Ponsonby prices were moving overseas.

“After Covid, I found out that a lot of people who can afford to come to Ponsonby, they come and say goodbye to me.”

As for those still in New Zealand, Roy believed they’d rather spend their money closer to home.

“They’d rather stay in their suburb having food that’s cheaper,” he said.

He said travelling to Ponsonby meant, in addition to the high prices, customers had to pay for parking and fuel.

The Ponsonby Business Association was developing a strategy and asking for community input.

Lim from the Garden Party store was optimistic Ponsonby Rd would pick up once again, and it could be sooner rather than later.

“Having done it for 30 years, I think I’m in a lucky position because we’ve weathered quite a few ups and downs and storms and we’ve had some really good times.

“I believe that this is just part of a cycle. It’s the bottom of the cycle ... and I’m hoping for a boomer Christmas ... that people’s confidence comes back and we get on with spending money and having a good time.”