We let the landlord know that we would not renew our newsagency lease at Westfield Southland a year and half out from the end of the lease. We did this because our focus had shifted from shopping centres and wanted to be clear we had no interest in remaining. Our high street businesses and online businesses are doing so much better and on a lower cost base.
We are now eight weeks from the end of the lease. On Monday last week we launched our first step of inventory sell down with this post on our Facebook page:
So long, farewell, Auf Wiederseh’n, goodbye. Our time at Westfield Southland ends in September. We have kicked off a HALF PRICE SALE. This is for everything in the shop except for papers and magazines.
We are truly grateful to the Cheltenham community for their support over the last 7 years. Thank you.Our lease has come to an end and we have decided to focus on our shops in Malvern, Mount Waverley and online.
We will be here for at least the next 6 weeks with awesome products at half price. Sorry, no special orders, holds or LayBy.
The response online and in-store has been wonderful, heartwarming. Sales have been fantastic. With everything paid for, the sale is all about converting inventory to cash.
Some suppliers are working with us to reduce their inventory, which is helpful for margin. We are also moving stock from our other stores if it’s not moving there as fast as we’d like. It’s not often you have an opportunity for a clearance outlet like this.
We have reset the shop floor to reflect our focus. There are no pretty displays of awesome visual merchandising. The approach is practical and easily shopped. We are also focussed on refreshing shelves when we sell low.
The landlord does not allow end of lease signs or anything similar, which makes for some challenges. This is where social media is vital. We are grateful that the Cheltenham community page allowed us to share our farewell post, which worked a treat.
Given that the shop requires a two-week defit, we have, in real terms, just under six weeks of trade left. This will be a daily dance of moving stock to keep products in the best positions to move and attention paid to any further write downs.
We are not being firm on our actual closure date since if we sell out sooner, we will close.
In the meantime, even day we have customers coming in, spending and saying farewell. It’s bittersweet. We are grateful to be leaving on our own terms though.