Chapel St traders say rate rise could be ‘final nail in coffin’

CLIENT: CHAPEL STREET PRECINCT ASSOCIATION

OUTLET: HERALD SUN

Businesses are hanging on by a thread in retail strips as the coronavirus crisis devastates the industry but Stonnington Council wants to raise rates for business owners. With retail businesses haemorrhaging money due to COVID-19, Stonnington Council has proposed a 2 per cent increase in rates in its draft budget.

The council says the rise is required due to a “significant fall in revenue and a severely impacted economy as a result of the pandemic’’. But Chapel Street Precinct Association pleaded for the plan to be scrapped at a meeting on Thursday night, claiming store owners have endured an 85 per cent downturn in foot traffic since March.

CSPA president and business owner Justin O’Donnell said the proposed rise would heap pressure on retailers already “on the edge’’.

Battling Chapel St traders outraged over council plan to ditch carparking

CLIENT: CHAPEL STREET PRECINCT ASSOCIATION

OUTLET: HERALD SUN

Chapel St traders are up in arms over a draft plan to remove street parking to make way for bicycle lanes along their struggling shopping strip. Businesses say they are battling to survive during the COVID-19 crisis and the Stonnington council’s latest cycle strategy was a “heartless’’ move. Traders fear the loss of parking between Greville St and Toorak Rd.

Lucky Penny cafe owner Matt Lanigan said his trade had dropped by 80-90 per cent since the restrictions began four months ago and had turned the business to a takeaway and grocery shop

“This latest plan for the street is the last thing we need.’’

Lifeline Extended - Scott Morrison Announces extension of JobKeeper

CLIENT: CHAPEL STREET PRECINCT ASSOCIATION

OUTLET: CHANNEL NINE NEWS MELBOURNE

Trapped in a second lockdown, Chapel Street trader Melissa Glentis is barely holding her cafe Dilly Dally together. The federal government's wage subsidy JobKeeper was a lifeline for her business, however in wake Scott Morrison's announcement that it will reduce after September - Glentis is frightened at the prospect.

Local focus a silver lining

CLIENT: CHAPEL STREET PRECINCT ASSOCIATION

OUTLET: THE WEST AUSTRALIAN

Chrissie Maus, General Manager of the Chapel Street Precinct Association, has written a strong opinion piece for The West Australian, detailing her frustration with the Victorian government's handling of containing the pandemic. Chrissie Maus consistently interacts with the media, on behalf of Chapel Street, to ensure the precinct is top of mind in all states across the country.

"It will cost businesses millions and many may never recover. I look fondly to my beloved WA and I see how real leadership has allowed businesses to reopen and stay open, with the local economy roaring back towards prosperity. It really is the tale of two cities. If only we could borrow Mark McGowan for a few months to sort Victoria out.”

Sh*t The Bed Hot Sauce: $1m item ‘too naughty’ for Woolworths, Coles

CLIENT: BUNSTERS

OUTLET: NEWS.COM.AU

Renae Bunster’s hot sauce empire rakes in millions every single year – but you’ll never find her popular products at your local Coles or Woolies.However, she realised she couldn’t go down the traditional route of approaching supermarket juggernauts Coles and Woolworths due to her signature product’s “too naughty” name – Sh*t the Bed Hot Sauce – which she joked would leave customers “fainting in the aisles”.

Instead, the Perth mum sidestepped the major retailers and sold her cheeky range online and via IGAs and butchers.Since launching her business from her own kitchen, sales have doubled every year and now, it rakes in more than $1 million annually.

We blame you for ghost town, Dan

CLIENT: CHAPEL STREET PRECINCT ASSOCIATION

OUTLET: HERALD SUN

Fury and frustration have boiled over with businesses savaging Premier Daniel Andrews for his government's virus failures as they brace for more pain during Melbourne's second lockdown.

Chapel St Precinct president Justin O'Donnell lashed out at Mr Andrews demanding he resign for botching management of the pandemic. The precinct's general manager, Chrissie Maus, back her president up saying it was "a crying shame" that businesses were suffering through a second lockdown, despite having strong hygiene and social-distancing practices.

“Everybody realised they couldn’t cook”: Aussie hot sauce brand smashes equity crowdfunding goal following COVID-19 sales spike

CLIENT: BUNSTERS

OUTLET: SMART COMPANY

A Perth-based hot sauce business with a global cult following has raised over $400,000 through an equity crowdfunding campaign, following a sales spike during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Back in 2012, hot sauce lover-turned-entrepreneur Renae Bunster set out to create a healthier source of spice, using Aussie-grown fruits and veggies wherever possible. Bunsters’ flagship Shit the Bed Hot Sauce has been the number one selling hot sauce on Amazon in the US, and that plus three other products are on the shelves in 600 independent supermarkets around Australia. The business now generates about $1 million in revenue every year.

And even during the COVID-19 crisis, and the economic hardship that has come with it, the business is growing. In March 2020, sales were up 100% compared to the same month last year.

Uncertain Future - Lockdown will Cost Victoria $1 Billion a Week

CLIENT: CHAPEL STREET PRECINCT ASSOCIATION

OUTLET: SUNRISE

Just as the light was at the end of the tunnel, Melbourne small businesses have taken a devastating hit with the re-instatement of stage three lockdowns. Many Chapel Street traders have pivoted and adapted to survive the first lockdown, and are ready to meet the challenge head on. Chrissie Maus, General Manager of CSPA, has said "We've had the dress rehearsal already, we are prepared."

Chapel Street traders shared their thoughts and feelings with the upcoming lockdown with Sunrise.

Chapel Street traders slam Andrews Government over crisis

CLIENT: CHAPEL STREET PRECINCT ASSOCIATION

OUTLET: HERALD SUN

Australia’s biggest shopping and dining strip has slammed Victoria’s handling of COVID-19, saying the second wave is crippling already struggling businesses.

“Every day seems to be getting worse — Daniel Andrews’ failure will now cost our great city tens of millions of dollars and lost jobs, and that is devastating for all our businesses that are doing the right thing,” the association’s general manager Chrissie Maus said.

Devastated businesses call for Andrews to resign

CLIENT: CHAPEL STREET PRECINCT ASSOCIATION

OUTLET: AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

Melbourne businesses are calling on Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to resign over the hotel quarantine debacle that led to a fresh COVID-19 outbreak and forced the whole of Melbourne into a second lockdown.

Chrissie Maus, general manager of the Chapel Street Precinct Association, which represents more than 2000 businesses in the area, said those at the top should take responsibility, and called for Premier Andrews to resign.

“I can’t trust [Mr Andrews'] government to effectively manage this, given the hotel quarantine debacle. But not only that. The fact he won’t answer questions on his leadership.

“As a leader, anyone needs to admit their faults. The fact he can’t stand there and admit he has driven this state into billions of dollars of more debt is very concerning. I feel like he has to fall on his sword because the trust has gone," she said.

She said businesses on Chapel Street had been doing the right thing, with rigorous hygiene practices and social distancing. But she said the botched hotel quarantining system was forcing them to pay a heavy cost through no fault of their own.