More than a dozen retailers at Hamilton's Westfield Chartwell are on the verge of financial collapse due to dwindling profits and crippling rents.
The tenants said rising costs imposed by Westfield management were the final straw and they were urging the Australian-owned retail giant to give them a break.
The majority of outlets at the Westfield food court including D-lishis, Ming Express, BB's Cafe, Citrus, Pronto Pasta and Shesh Besh Kebabs had suffered on average a 20 to 25 per cent fall in profit in the last year and were struggling to make ends meet.
Gloria Huang, who owns Shesh Besh Kebabs, had seen the monthly rent on her 45 square metre shop in the food court rise by more than $400 to $10,892.92 in the last six months and by more than $3000 in the last three years.
Other charges for the upkeep of the food court had more than doubled to $1830.63 a month since March 2006. She said the expense was too much. Other foodstall owners had been hit with similar price increases.
"Some of us will not survive for much longer under these new rent increases, which we stress to Westfield, but they tell us to pay or surrender your lease," Yvenna Yue, owner of D-lishis, said.
The retailers had made several attempts to meet with both Westfield Chartwell management and national management, but said they kept getting fobbed off and threatened with interest charges.
After seven years of running a Chinese takeaway store from Chartwell, Ming Express owner Joon Chong wanted out but the cost of surrendering her contract would be about $70,000.
Westfield New Zealand general manager of shopping centre management Linda Trainer said: "In the event that a retailer is suffering genuine hardship, Westfield will consider assistance for the retailer."
- © Fairfax NZ News BY NIKKI PRESTON
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