Wellington retailers cushioned from recessioned

Newmarket Business Association

Sunday 11 January 2008

Wellington retailers set to be cushioned from recession

The fashion capital of New Zealand says retailers in the political capital will continue to weather the economic recession better than any other city, thanks largely to its population of 36,000 public servants.

“Wellington bears the brunt of a few jokes but this year they’ll probably get the last laugh. In times like this you wonder why Auckland ever relinquished its capital city status back in 1865,” says head of the Newmarket Business Association, Cameron Brewer.

“We’re already seeing Wellington leading the pack, with the region having a very good Christmas. Paymark reported that shop takings for the Wellington region on Boxing Day alone were up a staggering 15% on the previous Boxing Day and Wellington’s retail statistics pre Christmas were strong too.

“In fact for the entire month of December Paymark reports that Wellington clearly headed off Auckland when it came to both volume and value increases in retail sales.”

“Overall December was quite strong in retail across the country, helped by a record-breaking Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. However most predict that 2009 is going to be a tough year for retailers. Wellington however has the extra security of a highly paid and secure work force, namely the public service. In these times having a huge number of government employees walking the streets is actually an advantage.

“Wellington effectively has a public sector workforce about the size of Wanganui that will continue to get paid well despite any economic woes. That gives its retailers a really strong base to not only weather the recession but prosper.”

“Wellington deserves some pluses in having to accommodate the seat of government and all the politicians, and this is definitely one of them. Not only can it claim it's the best place to raise a family, but it might also be a good place to open a shop this year. Having said that we would argue, Auckland has the benefit of enormous population growth and with that comes a lot of long-term confidence ,” says Cameron Brewer.

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