Extended trading not so sweet

The owner of a Waikiki retail outlet says she has been forced to shut up shop because late night trading has hit her business hard.

The Lolly Shop owner Karen Rolfe said trade has fallen dramatically since trading hours were extended less than three months ago.

Ms Rolfe, who opened the shop 12 months ago, said sales had fallen by between 60 to 70 per cent.

‘‘The extended trading in big shopping centres has killed me,’’ she said.

She could not buy stock as cheaply as big supermarket chains, such as Coles and Woolworths, and their extended hours was a factor in her decision to close.

‘‘Where are we supposed to make our money if we can’t compete with the big shopping centres?’’ she said.

Ms Rolfe said people were choosing to go to the bigger shopping centres over smaller local stores.

She feared hers was not the only small business suffering.

‘‘All it is is foot traffic — we’re just not getting enough people through our doors because they’re all at the big shopping centres,’’ she said.

The Lolly Shop was one of two small businesses owned by Ms Rolfe, who said she was unlikely to go into a retail business again.

She hoped her case would alert people to the impact extended trading had on small businesses.

‘‘I think the effect of extended trading has to have a face, and maybe I’m that face that shows it has an impact,’’ she said.

However, Rockingham Kwinana Chamber of Commerce president Justin Smith said the area had not yet seen the true outcome of late night trading, claiming a lack of consumer confidence and a slow economy had greater impacts.

‘‘Sales are still pretty stagnant — across the board people are hanging onto their money,’’ he said.