By Graham Skellern Fraser Cove is adding new stores at a time when other multi-million-dollar shopping centres are opening up around it. Unperturbed by the increased competition, Fraser Cove is increasing its retail space by 1700sq m comprising up to six specialty stores. The expansion is at the northern end of the sitealongside Postie Plus. Godfreys, Australia's market leader for vacuum cleaner and cleaning products, Jester Pies and Surf Street Skate Fashion are also moving in to the existing building over the next two months, making Fraser Cove fully tenanted. Steve Holyer, spokesman for management company IMF, viewed the opening of nearby Gate Pa Shopping Centre as a positive move. "It'll bring more people in to the area. They will go to Mitre 10 Mega and New World [at Gate Pa] and then come down here for the specialty stores. "We see both shopping centres as complementary ... no way has it reached saturation ... the growth is so significant that there is still plenty more retail space to be had." IMF manages Fraser Cove on behalf of its owner and sister company, New Zealand Retail Property Group. In the three years since it was established, Fraser Cove has grown to 22 retailers including the massive Warehouse red shed. There is also an employment training school, women's gym, Burger King and video store. Mr Holyer said the city's retail scene was beginning to segment . "You've got the new Fashion Island at Papamoa, Bayfair mall is still there, and we've found a niche with specialty and medium format stores [over 300 sq m such as Katmandu]." The 20 stores at Fashion Island in the Gravatt Rd Centa Max centre open this week and the first wave of shops including the New World supermarket at Gate Pa swing open their doors the following week. Mr Holyer said the shopping centres would take up "the leakage in spending" because people no longer needed to travel to Rotorua, Hamilton and Auckland to shop. "We have every confidence in the long term plans for Fraser Cove," he said. "You will be hard pressed to find a retailer here who hasn't had double-digit increases in business over the past 12 months.''
