Shopping habits force retailers to adjust

RETAIL REVIVAL: The redevelopment of Napier's old Farmers store has been a hit with retailers. PHOTO/DUNCAN BROWN

Napier's old Farmers department store building is for sale after an extensive refurbishment which has attracted a range of new retail tenants to the central city site.

The redevelopment of the four-title building - with frontages on Emerson and Hastings Streets, and a valuation of $6.9 million - is being seen by business leaders as evidence that all is not doom-and-gloom in the Hawke's Bay retail sector.

The property is being sold by Wallace Development Company, headed by Hawke's Bay property developer Jonathan Wallace, after the company signed up tenants for all nine converted shop and office spaces on the two-story site.

Cam Ward, managing director of Colliers Hawke's Bay which is marketing the property, said Wallace Development's success in fully tenanting the site was an indication that it was in a prime spot for retailers.

While the entire length of Emerson St was previously Napier's premier shopping precinct, shoppers' focus had now shifted to the eastern end of Emerson St and south down Hastings St where Farmers moved into a new building last year.

"There are a variety of shops along there now for people to enjoy and they are spending time walking around in the CBD," Mr Ward said. "Properties in prime positions are still holding their own.

"Retailers are positioning themselves for the future in these areas."

Mr Ward said Napier and Hastings were dealing with the same issues retailers faced across regional New Zealand, as changing shopper behaviour, including the rise of online trading, made CBD trading harder.

"If they're not in a prime position as a property owner from a retail perspective, landlords are suffering," he said.

Shoppers would always cluster around large "people puller" retailers such as Farmers, and the department store chain's impact was being seen in both Hastings and Napier.

While Hastings St had benefited from Farmers' move in Napier, Heretaunga St West's 200 block in Hastings had seen similar benefits with the arrival of the city's new Farmers in the block.

At the same time Heretaunga St West's 300 and 400 blocks retailers were suffering.

Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce CEO Wayne Walford said while there were issues for retailers in parts of Napier and Hastings, he hoped the sector would get a boost from Aucklanders interested in taking advantage of cheaper property prices in the region.

Napier City Council initiatives, such as a "chill-out" space on Market St, are creating more energy and a unique flavour in the CBD and encouraging people to spend more time in town, Mr Walford said.

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule has said he accepts the city's retail precinct is too widely spread and a solution needs to be found.

His council is planing a public forum in June where experts will share their thoughts on what Hastings can do to revitalise its CBD in the face of changing shopping patterns.

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton said his council was "working hard to give people a reason to come into the CBD other than just to buy a pair of socks or underpants".

A lighting project for Clive Square, aimed at adding vibrancy to the western end of the CBD, was due to be completed by the end of next month and was one of the initiatives the council was working on, he said.

"We're coming up with some really bright ideas to revitalise the CBD and we think we're on track."