A letter from the president

Dear fellow traders and professionals,

I hope you are getting your businesses back on track, especially with pandemic restrictions now fully lifted. It has been promising to see so many businesses operating at normal capacity again.

Our improved trading situation has shown in recent retail sales figures provided by Australian Bureau of Statistics, which reached record levels in March. Sales increased 9.4 per cent compared to the same time last year and 1.6 per cent compared to the previous month.

These results are great, but we are aware that challenges lie ahead, with inflation and cost of living rising, and the interest rate hike. It will put pressure on people’s budgets, but retail experts predict sales to remain robust, thanks to the high savings rates of Australians during the pandemic and ongoing potential for tourism spend to flow onto retail.

This newsletter shares our marketing plans for winter, including our seasonal campaign and food promotion. There will be opportunities for you to get involved so make the most of it. Our recent CamberWELL- BEING event was a success, with customers taking the ‘Wellness Trail’ to explore health and wellness businesses. It was good to see people attending events again and so many businesses participating. We promoted this as part of our advertising on the new radio station MAGIC 1278 – they arranged ‘vox pop’ contributions from participating businesses and had a marquee at the event. This winter we’ll also advertise at the Rivoli and Balwyn cinemas. It’s a good way to show what the precinct offers in quick images, similar to the seasonal videos on our website.

Please visit the Trader Portal on the camberwellshopping.com.au website – it has information to help your business, like government news, support programs and workshops. It’s also crucial you keep us updated with your contact email so you stay in the loop via our monthly updates. The traders’ association can help promote your business, reaching people outside of your database, so use the association’s leverage whenever you can. Send your specials and offers via email to: info@camberwellca.com.au

Take care and stay well.

Regards, Henk Kelly-Kobes President, Camberwell Centre Association