Bringing city-style retail glamour to Gippsland
The RetPro team has successfully turned around an established and once popular retail centre into a thriving and exciting shopping destination.
Morwell’s Mid Valley shopping centre started operating in 1982 and while it had been redeveloped over the years, it had lost its shine. Major tenants left, others were not signing up for the long term, vacancy rates were growing and foot traffic was slowing.
The centre, which is owned by a well-known Melbourne-based family, then enlisted retail property service provider RetPro to come up with a plan to redevelop and revive the centre and attract new quality tenants.
The end result is clear to see, with Mid Valley now a leasing and redevelopment success story, with new stores and dining and entertainment offerings making it a popular shopping hub once more servicing Morwell and the broader Gippsland region.
This positive and profitable outcome was made possible with the deep knowledge, experience and dedication of the RetPro team.
Two years ago, the centre was struggling and the two major tenants, Coles and Target had left, with plenty of vacant space looming.
“This was a long-established shopping centre but many retailers did not want to sign long-term leases,” RetPro founder and managing director Graham Terry said.
“The plan was to reposition the centre, refurbish it to retain tenants, bring in new retailers and stores, and attract customers to return.”
The strategy to introduce city retailers into this regional centre is proceeding smoothly, with the team attracting and signing up the fast-expanding and popular stores such as TK Maxx, Cotton On Mega, Kaiser Craft and Rivers.
The centre was refurbished, and vacancy rates declined, with specialty retailers including Factorie and Specsavers plus the Village Cinema chain and new food precinct added to the mix.
“We have a great relationship with the client and they have been very happy with the work,” Mr Terry said.
“The market response has been fantastic with consumers returning. Customers impressed with the change in the centre. We are just halfway through with this asset, which could have gone either way, but now has been repositioned to perform well.”
Mid Valley is Gippsland’s largest shopping centre and offers a wide range of retail, dining and entertainment outlets with nearly 70 stores, including two supermarkets, Big W and Bunnings, plus more to come.
