Pop up markets at Stockland Townsville creating a safe space for local small business owners to work
Stockland Townsville is proud to introduce ‘The Market Place’; a new pop-up market designed to support local small business owners by providing a safe and reliable space inside the town centre for vendors to operate.
Local business owner Logan Pula from Dust and Amber said: “We lost almost everything in the floods back in February, including our family home. Because of The Market Place, I was able to keep my business open and running, and have been so successful in the centre that I’ll be opening my own semi-permanent kiosk in the mall in early June.”
Prior to The Market Place opening, many of these local shops operated stalls in open air markets, which, with unpredictable weather, sometimes meant no sales. Having a space within the town centre has helped them continue to prosper regardless of outdoor conditions.
Malcolm Miller, Stockland Townsville Centre Manager, said that the idea was a natural fit with the shopping centre: “The people of Townsville really enjoy markets; from interacting with small business owners behind the niche brands that we love, to feeling a sense of pride in supporting local; the entire experience is quite rewarding. We wanted to bring this to life in a shopping centre setting and help out some local businesses who are wanting to grow.”
Malcolm adds that The Market Place offers items that are unique and harder to come by, such as custom made quality homewares, baby essentials, personalised jewellery, clothing, accessories and healthy life products.
“It is all part of giving our customers more of what they want, which is accessibility to a broad range of quality products in one place.”
Karen Nabbs, owner of TIJ Collection, a current vendor at The Market Place, commends it for bringing her together with kind, like-minded local business owners. “With my husband currently on deployment, I have found it challenging to run my business whilst caring for our two teenagers. The other vendors are so nice, it feels like we‘re a little community; they help and support me from both a business and personal perspective.”
The Market Place is currently a temporary pop-up, but is looking at becoming a permanent installment at Stockland Townsville.
Stockland Townsville is the leading centre located in the geographic heart of Townsville and houses the region’s only full-line Myer department store and full-line H&M. The retail precinct includes the Townsville and Nathan Street centres, featuring Woolworths and Big W in the main centre and Coles and Kmart in the Nathan Street centre.