IT’S ABOUT TIME!
Finally, Adelaide’s heart and soul – its biggest retail precinct – is about to create history which will see Adelaide ‘come of age’ and align with many major cities across the globe.
From Tuesday 5th October, Rundle Mall will commence EARLY EVENING WEEK DAY TRADING which will see trading hours increased up to 7pm Monday – Thursday in a move that is expected to become a catalyst for greater things to come within the City of Adelaide.
It is a move that has been welcomed by City workers and residents, tourism industry operators and the majority of retailers.
Rundle Mall Management Authority Chairman, Theo Maras said, “Rundle Mall is open for business!”
Early Evening Trading has been a topic of discussion for some time, and in fact there has been no significant change to the Rundle Mall precinct’s core trading hours since Sunday trading was introduced to the City in 1994.
In February this year, Rundle Mall Management commenced a mammoth undertaking involving research, consultation and discussion with its stakeholders including retail owners, store managers, property owners, customers and City workers with a view to obtaining a consensus on the opportunity to activate Early Evening Weekday Trading.
“The results of this process, I’m pleased to report were extremely encouraging and took us to the next step in this mammoth opportunity,” said Rundle Mall General Manager Martin Haese. “From the Rundle Mall stakeholders and customers, we then approached the Adelaide City Council, car park owners, our security personnel, we liaised with the Police and we’re currently speaking with the Department of Transport with respect to bus timetables. Make no mistake, this is not simply a matter of stores keeping their doors open a bit longer, it is a major change to the way of life in this City – it’s a wake-up call and it’s about time”, he said.
A number of retailers in Rundle Mall have been trading beyond 5.30pm already with exceptional results, including David Jones and Woolworths, the latter of whom has reported around a healthy percentage of trade being done between the hours of 5pm and 7pm.
David Jones SA General Manager, John Samartzis recently said, “early evening trading is all about providing our customers with choice and convenience”, the sentiment of which was endorsed by Woolworths SA Retail Support Manager, Keri Foti, who added, “Extending Rundle Mall’s trading hours is a very positive move as the many people who live and visit the centre of Adelaide will now be given more time to enjoy the city’s vibrant retail environment.”
Rundle Mall will celebrate the launch of Early Evening Weekday Trading next Tuesday with street theatre performers, buskers, musicians and the like. A series of entertainment related feature events will be staged in the coming months with announcements to come closer to each date.
From Tuesday 5th October;
- 75% of retailers fronting Rundle Mall will support the initiative for Early Evening Weekday Trading. The remaining 25% will ‘wait and see’ or not participate
- 61% of retailers located in shopping centres, arcades and laneways support the Early Evening Weekday Trading
Whilst our 120,000 City workers will be the group who will frequent and benefit from the new trading hours initially, the flow on effect to the 25,000 (and growing) City residents, tourists and suburban residents will be significant as all our lives, both in and out of work, continue to evolve and become more fluid as to when we work, shop and play.
The research findings revealed, of the 120,000 City workers:
- Over 50% do not presently frequent Rundle Mall for shopping, eating or entertainment
- City workers are increasingly time poor citing that lunchtimes do not afford an effective window in which to shop
- City workers have some hesitation in returning to the locale in which they work on weekends
“When we combined these figures with the feedback from our retail and property owner stakeholders, we knew we were on the right track – the time for change had come” said Mr Haese.
Intercontinental Hotel Manager Kamal Chaoui said, “We regularly have both leisure and business visitors commenting about shops closing at 5.30pm – they are simply not used to it. This initiative by the Rundle Mall Management Authority is an excellent step in the right direction.”
Rundle Mall – now open up to 7pm Monday – Thursday from this Tuesday 5th October – it’s about time!!
Visit the website at www.rundlemall.com
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