'High rent' claims more casualties on the high streetKATY JONES More retailers close shops in Nelson CBD citing rising rent and falling sales. KATY JONES Shop closures in Nelson city centre a "fluctuation" rather than a trend, the body charged with promoting the CBD says. "The rent killed us," Leigh Riley, co-owner of homewares and interior design business, Strangers Collective, said. KATY JONES Retailers say the growth of variety type stores in Nelson CBD doesn't fit its traditionally "boutique" image. The glut of closures coincided with a higher than usual number of retailers' leases expiring at the same, manager Simon Duffy said.

Source: Stuff March 18, 2018 19:18 UTC