Retail landlords urged to ease costs
Bernie Brookes. Photo: Arsineh Houspian
Pressure is mounting on retail landlords to lower costs for tenants, not just in rent but also marketing, maintenance and upkeep of general pedestrian areas as more shopkeepers buckle under the weight of poor sales.
Bernie Brookes, the head of Myer, which anchors close to 90 per cent of all major shopping centres across the country, warned of tough times ahead, singling out high wages, rents, taxes and utility costs, on top of flat sales.
Westfield has said that rents for new specialty stores were being signed at up to 10 per cent (average of about 6 per cent) lower than existing contracts, while other landlords such as GPT, which owns Highpoint in Melbourne, and CFS Retail, which owns half of Chadstone, have also warned that rents were rising at a very minimal range to avoid tenancy bankruptcies.
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