SEVERAL stores are reopening for select trading hours at Mildura Central, thanks to the JobKeeper package.
A Mildura Central spokeswoman said the Australian Government package meant several local businesses had been able to re-employ staff.
“In the last week we’ve had six or seven stores reopen,” she said.
“Hopefully, over the next week or so, we’ll see that number double.”
A number of Mildura Central businesses have been operating but many made the decision to close their doors when social distancing measures were put in place to combat the spread of COVID-19.
One of these stores, Mildura Showcase Jewellers, was closed for about three weeks.
Staff member Jazmin Cook said during this time the business had made a lot of deliveries and worked to keep customers up-to-date with what was happening.
“We thought it was a good idea to reopen” she said.
“A lot of people were wanting to go shopping for Mother’s Day.
“Only a few people are allowed in the store at one time and we’ve got hand sanitiser on entry.”
Ms Cook said she had missed seeing regular customers and it was wonderful to have people shopping again.
“It’s nice to see a lot of support from locals, especially people who work in the centre and are excited to see us open again.”
Mildura Showcase Jewellers has also taken steps to include customers who may not be able to come to the store by filming a 3D virtual tour of the store for Facebook and were encouraging customers to call if they needed assistance finding a particular item.
Other stores that have recently reopened include The Athlete’s Foot, Juice Bar, Edge Clothing, Lovisa and Skechers.
The Mildura Central spokeswoman said each business was enforcing social distancing and taking care to ensure staff and customer safety.
She said businesses such as Hudaks Bakery had adopted a call-and-collect initiative, allowing customers to ring the business and get food delivered to their cars.
Mildura Central hoped to see the idea rolled out by other stores and in the meantime would work on its recovery plan to ensure staff and customers could shop safely, she said.
“At this time we really hope people can support local.”
Wesfarmers silent on Target future
A Mildura Central spokeswoman said they had not received any correspondence from Wesfarmers regarding the future of the centre’s Target store.
On Tuesday, April 28 Wesfarmers announced it would accelerate a review into its under-performing Target business.
According to a trading update, Target earnings have decreased significantly, reflecting a broader decline in customer footfall in shopping centres.
The Mildura Central spokeswoman said Target was one of the few stores in the centre that had remained open since the start of COVID-19 restrictions.
She said during this time Target had been popular with many customers who were searching for home wares, games and clothes they could no longer purchase from other stores.
Wesfarmers’ review into Target aims to improve the business’ unsatisfactory financial performance.
Further details will be provided before June 30 this year once the strategic review is completed.
Wesfarmers’ trading update reported strong performance by its Bunnings Warehouse and Officeworks businesses during this time.
