High rents, economy hit Newmarket shops with 24 empty on Broadway

Empty shopfronts in Newmarket, Auckland, are causing concern for some local businesses. Photo / RNZ

By Luka Forman of RNZ

• Many empty shopfronts in Newmarket are due to high rent and changing shopping habits.
• Businesses report a “ghost-town” feel, with reduced foot traffic and customer spending.
• Retailer Grant Elliott urges landlords to address maintenance issues and collaborate to revitalise the area.

It’s a tough time for business in one of Auckland’s top shopping districts, with many empty shopfronts lining once-bustling streets.

Newmarket businesses said high rent, a tight economy and changing shopping habits had all contributed to a difficult environment.

Checkpoint counted 24 shops that were empty or for lease on Broadway, the main street in Newmarket.

Businesses said the empty buildings weren’t a good look for attracting customers, and the area sometimes felt like a ghost town.

The Rialto cinema complex sits on Broadway. It was once a busy mall with shops and a food court.

The cinema is still open, but the food court is no more and several shops on the ground floor have either shut down or relocated.

On Teed St, in a precinct behind the Rialto complex, is high-end clothing store Twenty-Seven Names.

Sales assistant Frances Melville said many businesses were struggling.

“I think it’s sad because it’s very empty, it’s like a ghost town with some of the shops opening and then closing pretty soon after. We’ve lost some really nice neighbours who used to be around here.”

With the tight economy, customers’ spending habits had changed, Melville said.

“Definitely not as many people walking around and coming into shops anymore.

“A lot of people, if they are going to buy something, they’ve come in knowing what they’re going to buy already. A lot less people spending money.”

Grant Elliott owned the Drop Out streetwear store on Broadway.

Landlords had to take some responsibility for all the empty shops, he said.

“The rent is pretty horrendous around here... I think a lot of the buildings are reaching an age where they need a bit of maintenance that landlords aren’t willing to fork out the cash for and instead will want to put that on to the business.”

Things were tough at the moment, Elliott said, but the empty shops were making the area look worse than it was.

“Say, in our case, where you look across the road and there are seven in a row that are empty. It definitely makes the area seem a lot worse than what it is. But there are still a lot of shops with stores in them, and some of those shops may be doing well, some of them may not be doing well.”

Shoppers on Newmarket’s streets agreed the area wasn’t as bustling as it could be.

Shoppers in Newmarket say the area is not as bustling as it used to be.

“It’s definitely making the vibe feel a little bit lost and quiet,” one shopper said.

“There must be 20 empty shops just down Broadway here alone. It’s ridiculous, what’s happening?” another said.

“I think there’s not very many people shopping here... I’d say it’s the internet, people are buying off the internet.”

Back at Drop Out store, Elliott was optimistic about the future despite the area’s challenges, and hoped council, landlords and businesses could work together to make Newmarket a thriving shopping district again.

– RNZ