Major aftershock cruel blow for struggling stores

A building inspector checks for damage in rubble-strewn Cathedral Square. Photo / Simon Baker

In one hit, three months of economic recovery have been wiped out, say central Christchurch retailers affected by the Boxing Day aftershock.

A magnitude-4.9 earthquake at 10.30am on Sunday knocked out power, damaged walls, broke sprinkler pipes, and forced shops in a central city mall to close on their biggest sale day of the year. It was the largest of more than 14 aftershocks throughout the day.

Sports equipment store Frontrunner opened for just 20 minutes before the earthquake hit.

"It pisses you off," said owner Laurie Blyth. "We had a really poor September, October and November. December was just coming back to a semblance of making some sense."

With the aftershock, business had returned to the gloom of September, when a 7.1 earthquake devastated the city and shoppers changed their habits to avoid the CBD.

The aftershock had undone three months of work, Mr Blyth said.

The street had been cordoned off and electricity was lost, he said.

Frontrunner reopened yesterday, but 98 per cent of customers had been tourists, and sales were half what they should be.

"Locals aren't shopping. They've decided not to bother."

Mr Blyth's shop was in good condition despite the aftershock, which damaged nearby buildings.

"But until people start coming back into the city it won't mean jack s***. People aren't spending money."

In just the one store, the immediate loss could amount to $50,000.

It has been estimated that more than 50 shops in the central city were significantly affected - the total cost will run into millions.

Mr Blyth said it would be next spring before the business could think of rebuilding to what it had been.

"It's very frustrating. Your marketing and advertising budget is spent, you engender some kind of traffic and it's starting to get back to normal.

"It was pleasing through Christmas Eve, and if we got six or seven more good days we would have been fine for the month.

"Then, whack - it's back to the starting line again."

January would be make or break for many businesses as the impact continued, he said.

Department store Ballantynes remains closed today, a loss of three days of the year's best sales.

"The cost of lost opportunity and sales is huge," said a spokeswoman, Hayley Larsen. "Boxing Day is the biggest day of the year. We had placed some really big specials."

The Ballantynes building had been cleared as safe by engineers, but adjoining buildings were unstable, Ms Larsen said.

It is expected to reopen tomorrow.

Central City Business Association manager Paul Lonsdale said that after three months of tireless hard work building up central city retail, the Boxing Day earthquake had been a shock.

"It was just a blow. It affected confidence in many respects."

But the association would focus on positive opportunities, such as creating a "Boxing Day" make-up day in January for central city businesses, Mr Lonsdale said.

"On the positive side, we can say that at 10am the city was packed full of people.

"And no one was hurt."

The Earthquake Commission said it had received 150 new claims resulting from this week's aftershocks, which continued yesterday.

Chief executive Ian Simpson said the aftershocks would be treated as a new earthquake.

"This means people whose property was damaged by the quakes will have three months to lodge their claim, and there is no need to rush home to check, if they are away."

JOLTS' IMPACT

5000 buildings to be assessed.
50 or more central shops affected.
$50,000 estimated damage to one.
150 new claims to Earthquake Commission yesterday.