Retail not dying

Warragul’s business people have the opportunity to create a “showpiece rural town” and vibrant retail centre, according to Warragul Business Group executive member Dave Cann.

Mr Cann has disputed the “doom and gloom” attitude that rural retail is dying at the expense of large retail precincts and online shopping.

“There’s a lot of doom and gloom. I have not seen a good business close in Warragul since I’ve been in business.

“Where businesses in rural environments get it wrong, is they are not prepared to give 110 per cent and develop their business in a way that would be worthy of being run in a community or any place in Victoria,” he said.

Mr Cann recently addressed the Warragul Historical Society about the growth and development of Warragul’s business community.

Mr Cann estimated $200 to $250 million left Warragul every year in retail. But, he said, while businesses lose money to other areas, they also “catch money.”

“There is always escape expenditure no matter what you have to offer.

Mr Cann said the days of “friendly competition” between businesses had gone.

“The competition is provided by Fountain Gate, Chadstone, Traralgon and the internet, that’s the competition consumers look at now.”

But he said claims the internet was killing businesses were “exaggerated.”

He said consumers were returning to bricks and mortar businesses and for the first time in 10 years, internet sales dropped to nine per cent last year.

Mr Cann said there was a lot of talk about the growing number of cafes, hairdressers and real estate companies in Warragul.

But, he said it was better to have those shops, with their good fit-out, filling a business precinct than empty shops.

From p1 And, he said, those businesses generated foot traffic and economic stimulus which was good for retail, service, trades and agricultural support businesses.

Mr Cann said while the business group was strongly against dividing the retail precinct, he said that didn’t mean other precincts could not develop.

He said the precincts needed to be developed to interact with each other and there needed to be space available for large scale and big box retail.

“If Big W wanted to come to town they would have found a site. Aldi wanted to come to town and they built,” he said.

Mr Cann said national or chain brand business would come to Warragul if the figures were good enough.

“They don’t worry about the Bonlac site, they will come here, they will make it work.

“The fact they are not coming is that the figures don’t add up, that’s why they are not here, more than the development is not there yet,” he said.

Mr Cann said he did not believe the town would have a population big enough in the next 20, 30 or 40 years to support a major shopping centre development.

He said there was always a lot of talk about potential development sites but what was lost in the controversy and “hysteria” was there still had to be a return for the investment.

He said retail was still shallow. “It’s hard to ask a developer to invest a bucket load of money into something that will not give them a return.”

“Without a vibrant business community, you struggle to have a vibrant community; without that, it’s more of a struggle to have a vibrant business community – the two go hand in hand,” Mr Cann said.