Please note: this is an old article
It was published in January 2012, so the information may be out-of-date.
The Council would like to thank CBD traders for supporting the Saturday extended trading hour promotion in the lead up to Christmas.
The initiative was a direction of Greater Shepparton City Council's Shepparton CBD Strategy (2008) which acknowledged the need to extend retail business hours to increase activity in the CBD on weekends.
The promotion was extensively advertised through Council, the Shepparton Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Shepparton Show Me while a wide range of fun family activities were held in the city to compliment Saturday trading.
Council Manager Economic Development Geraldine Christou said that it was fantastic to see so much activity in the CBD on weekends during both November and December.
"We had feedback from business who had noticed many people were coming into the CBD from out of town to do their Christmas shopping and enjoy the free family entertainment in the city, Ms Christou said.
Joan Rhodes of Collins Booksellers said that Christmas trading period was a strong as ever.
"It was certainly worthwhile trading until 4.00pm on Saturdays throughout December. The activities in the CBD provided traders with a good opportunity to make the most of the people doing their Christmas shopping on Saturday afternoons," she said.
Mrs Rhodes also commented that while the Saturday trading promotion was successful, it would be difficult to encourage traders to trade later on Saturdays throughout the rest of the year. She said that for many businesses it is important to maintain a healthy work/life balance.
Leanne Stride, Manager of the Lemon Tree Cafe, also noticed the benefits of the Saturday trading promotion.
"We usually close at 4.00pm on Saturdays but found that we needed to trade later on Saturdays to cater for the people stopping by for a cup of coffee after shopping in the afternoon."
Ms Christou said that it's great to receive positive feedback for the promotion. It is important that the Council now continues to build on the momentum of this promotion to implement a schedule of activities and events to help stimulate trade and activity in the CBD throughout the rest of the year.