November 19, 2016
Kingaroy’s “nosediving economy” has been blamed for the closure of the First Avenue store on December 2.
Owners Werner and Megan Blasius will close the doors and turn the store area into an extension of their residence.
The couple, who previously ran a successful shop in Toowoomba, bought the business in February 2013.
They knew they had a task on their hands as the store had been closed for eight months when they took it over, so they completely gutted the shop and refurbished it.
Werner said the first 18 months were “great”.
But from mid-2014, sales started to slow and never picked up.
“Particularly since Christmas 2015, it’s done nothing,” Werner said.
The couple changed their opening hours to see if that would make a difference. It didn’t …
“The economy in the town is flat. People are just not spending,” Werner said.
“And running costs have gone through the roof. Power has been going up, and rates are going up.
“Power is now $1000 a week. That’s ridiculous!
“The drinks fridge costs me the same to run for a day if we sell one drink or 100.
“Cigarette prices have also gone through the roof. Sales stopped with the last increase.”
Werner said he and Megan wanted to stay in Kingaroy because they like the town and have family in the area.
Their plan now is to put a fence across the familiar parking area out front, install a gate and then start looking for work.
“It’s like the economy in Kingaroy has just nose-dived. I think there will be more shops closing in the near future,” Megan said.
“Kingaroy is just not sustainable, which is pretty sad.”
