Westfield Chermside (Brisbane) Shopping Centre management have just announced that they will be implementing a "Pay to Park" system around their shopping complex.

The reaction has been tumultous, with many shop lessees protesting that they will lose considerable business as a result of this idiotic move, which comes at a time when we are all expecting a severe downturn in spending due to the "inevitable" Recession.

This has been slated by the general public and the lessees as yet another "grab for cash" by an already well-heeled business group, and many people are saying that they simply will NOT pay to shop there!

The Shopping Centre Management stated that the move was an effort to stop people parking there all day!.....I would have thought that would have been an indication of the success of the shopping complex and ongoing shopping spending by anyone who is prepared to park there all day.

The Shopping Centre Management stated that they have considered another option,....of making the first couple of hours free, then charging an hourly fee of around $6 for anything over that.

I have never had any problem finding a parking spot in the Shopping Complex, but I am prepared to drive up to the rooftop parking areas, where there are always adequate parks, but involve a walk of a few metres to the escalator.

I feel that any move to impose parking fees on members of the public will only drive away business, which at this time is facing the possibility of hard times ahead!

It certainly appears that there is a move afoot to convert all parking areas around the Brisbane area into "User Pays" facilities. It is virtually impossible to get a parking space at the P.A. Hospital without having to pay through the nose for the privilege of "being sick"

Where has the balance between commonsense and sheer greed for money gone?

Westfield always had a bad reputation in suburban Sydney.

Always with the hungering for more and more money from tenants.

One coffee shop at our local Westfield wouldnt pay the vast increase in rent that Westfield wanted from them...so Westfield gave the shop owner 24 hours ONLY to get out.

In that time he had to get all of the power and water cut off, all of the coffee machine and microwaves out and all of his staff sacked.

Every cent that goes through shop cash registers, Westfield skims a percentage off. Their computers monitor the lot.
Not only do tenants pay the shop rent but Westfield also syphons a percentage off their tils.

A Westfield staff member once told me, in disgust, that management is constantly measuring up, with measuring tapes, all shopping traffic areas... to see how many stalls they can squeeze in.
If they had any heart they would respect the recession and lower rents.

I don't know about a backwater like Brisbane but in Sydney it is common to pay for parking in shopping centres after a few hours. The aim is to stop people using the car park for purposes other than a shopping stop. For example people who work in the area may park all day whilst at work. Or people might park there and then use public transport to go to work. If these people are causing genuine shoppers to stay away because of lack of or difficult of parking then the centre management ought to do something about it.

That's easily solved mhaze.

In my neck of the woods, council rangers also police car parks in shopping complexes.

If car owners breach the time limitations, the ranger fines them and the revenue goes to the council. Developers could arrange a similar strategy to prosecute inconsiderate users of car parks.

Why should those who abide by the parking limits, have to pay to park at shopping complexes? I'd be changing supermarkets if this was the case.

I simply wouldn't go there.
Westfield is making a bomb anyway. Shopping centres are designed to make a profit at 60% occupancy, their small traders leases are an exercise in extortion. Not only are rents obscene but they get a cut (%)of the Small/Business take and the other imposts like centre promos etc are iniquitous. Mind you the majors get comparatively rediculously cheap rents and none of the imposts. A case of the abuse of power.
Westfield owners are also among those who were allegedly sprung with secret tax-free bank accounts in Lichtenstein and now the ATO is after them.
Add to that SE Queensland has the most number of Shopping centres per capita in the world, including Sweden who is under snow 6 months of the year.
Where there is a way to make a buck someone will do itregardless of it being reasonable or not.

Well as a tenent in two centres, niether of the Westfield, I can teel you that the managers can drive you made at times.

Just to clarify one point, the % rent that you speak about only applies once your business has reached a pre-determined turnover, until that point you only pay the base rent plus all the extras.

Most leases these days have a standard 5% annual increase. My view is that the managres role is to attract shoppers to the centre and provide them with a pleasent shopping experience. It is then up to the retailer to extract their share of the spoils.

Furthermore, I feel that if the customer number drops below the previous years throughput, then the managers should not be allowed to increase rents as they must take the responsibillity for not attracting the shoppers, for what ever reason!

As for parking, you have no idea how frustrating it is to watch someone blatently park in the car park then go off to work or what ever. Remember, Chermiside also has the bus terminal so many would be parking and catching the bus.

I think fine the purpertrators heavily but leave the real shoppers to be. That would be the answer.

rehctub,
My experience is a bit long in the tooth now but I owned 4 shops in 4 centres 3 different owners.
Two of the sites falsified their visitor numbers when the traders association challenged their figures they retaliated by cancelling leases banning the traders association slapping gag orders etc.

They even encouraged the supermarkets to expand their ranges to under cut me. long story but I wouldn't trust any centre management futher than I could kick them. One family business because (they signed the petition to have an independant company to do a door trade edit) had their lease cancelled because their check was two days late. It turned out that a deal had been done with a chain for exclusitivity.
Good luck with your businesses but watch them.

Examinator
Thankfully these practices are a thing of the past.

We now have a body called the 'retail shop leases authority' and you can no longer have your lease canceled without the landlord following the proper protocols. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible now to get an 'option' included in your lease as a result, which de-values the business as you have a deteriating assett from day one and, come say year 3 of your 5 year lease you have little or nothing to sell as there is very little good will.

Another problem is that most financiers won't lend for terms beyond your lease so if a prospective buyer wants your business, which only has 2 years left on the lease, they find it hard to gain finance. This is why many business sale fall over due to finance.

To some extent the landlords have cashed in on this as they often grant a new lease to the new owner. Catch is, they charge both the old owner and the new a fortune in fees for preparation and cancelation of leases. It runs into the thousands and much of the claimed work involved is done 'in house'.

Given the ecconomic turmoil we look sure to face in the comming year, I think there may well be some government enquiery into rental increases, known as 'annual reviews' given that most retailers will be under financial strain come early 09.

Just to clarify turnover rent, it works like this;
Say your rent is $90,000 per year and you have a turnover clause of 7% in your lease.

This means that you are able to turnover $1,257,714.20, annually, before you pay additional rent. Any sales over and above this amount you pay 7 cents in each dollar.

The short answer is, if you want to beat the landlord you best become one.

I hope this clears it up.

cheers

One partial solution to the problem of non-shoppers appropriating to themselves the convenience of free all-day parking at large shopping centres exists. That is for centre management to chain off large blocks of parking space until some time after the designated opening hour for shops. This is done at a Westfield shopping centre with respect to sail-shaded parking space close to one of the main entrances. It seems to work. Parking spaces there seem to continuously turn over throughout shopping hours.

Why does this policy seem to work? I suggest the answer may lie in identifying, in a general sense, the class of persons who generally try to appropriate such space for free all-day parking. The Westfield centre in question is not located close to any rail or bus station: indeed, virtually all access is by car only, as the centre could hardly be considered to be within walking distance of any residential area. So who, in a general sense, is abusing the parking in this way?

I'm not a store lessee, or involved with Westfield in any way, just a user of the centre when it suits my convenience, but I'm tipping that the majority of parking space abusers are persons employed within the shopping centre. I reckon that some employees (and perhaps even lessees) seek to arrive at work as late as possible, parking their car as close as possible, and where it can be in shade all day.

In much smaller shopping centres, or in individual business carparks, I frequently notice signs saying 'no staff parking', or 'customers only parking', but I can't recall ever seeing such signs in a Westfield shopping centre carpark area.

Clearly, it is in the interests of both Westfield and lessees in general that there always be sufficient parking space to accommodate as many customers as may seek to use the centre. I'm getting the sense that Westfield, in attempting to impose a general parking charge to discourage all-day parking, are simply evading policing something they are presently responsible for managing: free parking.

Actually forrest, many centres have a fine system for staff parking illegally. Every centre I know has designated staff parking.

I also thought there was a bus terminal at chermside. I am sure there is!

rehctub:

In the original thread I did state "Westfield, Chermside"

As "Westfield" is a company group name I think that there has been some confusion in which "Westfield" Shopping Centre area was being referred to in some responses!

I reiterate that I am referring to Chermside Shopping Centre and I still cannot accept any excuse for Centre Management applying a Pay to Park fee!

Yes you are right regarding the Chermside bus terminal,...however if some of these vehicles are belonging to bus commuters, then this illustrates the lack of sensible public parking facilities close to the terminus,......so why should potential customers of the Chermside Shopping Centre businesses be penalized, for a problem that is the responsibility of the Brisbane City Council?

No, I am sorry but I still maintain that this is just a quick grab for extra cash by a greedy group intent on "profit at any cost"!

It is still considered to be a most dangerous precedent which will inevitably result in loss of businesses and trading!

"Centre Management applying a Pay to Park fee!"

I suspect, come 2009, retail could be so bad, "Centre Management" will consider paying people to park their cars and come on into the shopping malls just to see faces.....

Charging car parking is a pretty good disincentive when choosing between particular shopping malls