A closing department store in Carlingford

Much hay has been made both domestically, and by incredulous tourists on YouTube, over how Australian and Asian retail has thrived where it’s faltered in the US. The truth is… somewhere in the middle. While Australian shopping centres and malls have fared significantly better than those in the States, they haven’t been immune to economic downturn, the rise of online shopping, and extortionate rents. It’s not even limited to big box outlets squeezing out smaller stores either; department stores and other large chains have been downsizing, consolidating, or exiting spaces altogether. Clara and I were with her dad getting coffee this morning in Carlingford, mostly because none of us had been there in a while, and were surprised to see an anchor store with rows of empty shelving and blocked off isles. Turns out they’re vacating by October. I don’t remember much from my early childhood in Australia before we moved overseas semi-permanently, but I do recall my mum and sister busying…