Dire consequences for malls if forced to shut during alert level 3

PHOTO: The Council of Retail Property

The group that represents 140 malls across New Zealand is warning there could be dire consequences for retailers if shopping centres stay shut.

The New Zealand Council of Retail Property is pleading with the Government to allow malls to reopen during alert level 3.

Christchurch’s The Palms shopping mall was a ghost town on Sunday afternoon. Like every mall around the country, only the chemist and the supermarket are allowed to be open – and that’s the way it’ll stay even after moving to level 3.

What next for real estate agents?

Council of Retail Property chairperson Campbell Barbour says he’s concerned how some in the retail sector are going to survive the COVID-19 crisis.

“It’s a critical industry. It’s an industry that employs 10 percent of the country’s population and this is a high stakes game. And we’re very concerned that not being able to trade, every week that goes by the damage is more significant.”