12 July 2013
Retailers meet to discuss River Traders
On Thursday 11 July Wanganui CBD retailers met at the cosy Rutland Arms early in the morning to discuss the River
Traders market and whether or not Mainstreet Wanganui should instigate its own CBD based market.
At the meeting was Mayor Annette Main, Councillor Rob Vinsen, members of the Mainstreet executive and around twenty
retailers. The first order of business was to present the results of a survey Mainstreet Wanganui undertook of its
members with questions like ‘has the river traders market been good for your business or detrimental?’ And ‘If you could
choose which day of the week the market was on which day would you prefer?’ Overwhelmingly the feedback at the meeting
and in the survey was that the market by the river has been great for Wanganui and it should stay right where it is when
it is.
Whether or not Mainstreet should organise its own market was less clear cut with some great ideas coming to the fore but
less clarity around the practicalities of organising such a thing and who should drive it. What was clear though was
that CBD retailers would like to see Wanganui being more welcoming of its visitors with better CBD signage to help
visitors navigate visitor attractions on foot, better signage from the state highway to help visitors find the CBD more
easily and better use of symbols on signage for non-English speakers. All agreed that signage was a real issue in our
CBD and want to see it addressed.
Wanganui’s built heritage was also raised as a wonderful point of difference and visitor attraction. Retailers felt that
this should be highlighted as a key visitor experience more. Also discussed were changing customer behaviours and the
need to perhaps open later on a Saturday to accommodate these changes. While all chain stores are open on weekends many
locally owned and operated businesses find this proposition a lot more difficult with falling sales and rising overheads
it is not always possible to take on extra staff to cover additional shifts, however there is little doubt that a lack
of Saturday afternoon and Sunday trading leaves Wanganui at a distinct disadvantage when competing with Palmerston North
and the proliferation of online shopping.
Many positive ideas came out of the meeting and Mainstreet Wanganui has already begun implementing one with discussions
underway to create new signage in the CBD.
For minutes of the meeting or the full survey results contact: www.mainstreetwanganui.co.nz
ENDS