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