Growth the key for business

– Shaun Inguanzo
NOBLE PARK needs a wider range of shops and for traders to return to grassroots customer service if its trade precinct is to compete with the likes of Dandenong’s.
That’s the view of long-time traders June Carson and Keith Teeuw of KJ Curtains and Blinds, who this week attended a meeting organised by the council for Noble Park traders to discuss the Noble Park structure plan.
The plan will act as a blueprint for Noble Park’s future, outlining a direction for local businesses among other plans for the town’s residential areas.
Ms Carson said extended retail hours in large shopping malls were a challenge for the Noble Park’s small businesses.
“Most shops here are owner-operated so remaining open until late places high demands on time,” she said.
Ms Carson said Noble Park’s main trade precinct, incorporating Douglas and Ian streets, needed a wider variety of shops to keep customers in the area instead of allowing them to shop elsewhere for the products they needed.
Mr Teeuw said many traders were half-hearted about customer service and needed to learn more about retailing before blindly opening a business.
“There are retailers here who just aren’t retailers,” he said.
Ms Carson said Tuesday night’s meeting at the Paddy O’Donoghue Centre was packed with retailers, as opposed to a meeting earlier in June that wooed just three traders.