The following is an open letter from Doug and Wendy Calvert, former owners of four retail outlets in Port Douglas, who recently went into voluntary liquidation. The Calverts were heavily involved in the community and left these words for the people of the town.

Hi Dear friends,

It is with much sadness that Wendy and I will be leaving Port on May 21st. I am sure you are all aware that our businesses went into voluntary liquidation on Wednesday 9th May. I write this message not for sympathy but just to say we will be OK and are looking forward to facing a new adventure in another chapter of our colorful life.

Just to clarify our situation I would like to share the following:

Wendy and I moved to Port early 2006 and bought Something Tropical for a fair price based on the historic sales. At that time there was only one empty shop in town and that was in Portico building near Zinc. The town was thriving and had been that way since 2000. The only way of securing a shop in Macrossan St was to buy a business.

We did in fact attempt to buy House stuff on several occasions however Paula refused to sell it to us (only joking!!). There was also a lot of development in town with Coconut grove followed by Port village.

We then had 3 fabulous years with Something Tropical, increasing the sales by 30%, launching our kids shop in 2007, followed by Bamboo shack in 2008. At that stage we were employing 10 wonderful and dedicated staff.

We then bought a magnificent block of land on the Beachfront and designed a house to suit. We also had our house in Melbourne near the beach. Our plan was to retire in 10 years and spend 9mths in Port and 3 mths in Melb each year. It was looking very rosy on the lead up to our retirement and we decided Port was the place we wanted to live.

The rest is then history, with the GFC in 2008 followed by the China resource boom and our high Aussie dollar. From that time we had a continual challenge to reduce costs and change the products to suit the reduced spending pattern of the tourists coming to town.

There are obviously many other factors such as government changes (fairwork penalty rates, superannuation, retail clothing outsource workers reporting requirements, etc), on line shopping, etc, etc, which have impacted on businesses in town.

The MBS report really summarizes the challenges facing Port and many other tourist towns in Australia and hence reflecting back its not surprising that we now have nearly 50 vacant shops (including my 4 shops). Unfortunately many more have confided in me that they are also planning an exit over the next 6 months.

For the record I have been working with Phoebe (who is a fabulous asset to this town, particularly in this time of need), my accountant and business analyst over the past 3 months to do some radical surgery to attempt to save the sinking ship. Unfortunately a bit like Titanic the problems started a long time before I hit the iceberg.

We planned on closing all 4 shops over the next 3 mths and moving all 4 into 2 shops in the new development where E.J’s used to be located. A great plan which would result in less wages and half the rent and return us to some degree of profitability and enable us to get through the increasing trough of the low season. This had the full support of the bank and all my business advisors, however the bank removed the support 2 weeks ago.

We had the option of continuing to trade and see if this coming season would be enough to get us through however we decided that the gamble was too great. The ANZ bank withdrew support based on their lack of confidence in Port in the next 5-10 years. We then appointed a liquidator and the rest is history. Every business is a gamble. In hindsight (which is always wonderful) we gambled on Port, threw the dice, and lost.
 
Where to from here:

Wendy and I have decided to Move back to Melb since we have concluded that we need to be near family and more employment opportunities. We are now attempting to find a place to live and a job.

Our magnificent home that caused us so much stress and cost a lot more than planned as a result of our builder going into liquidation (sounds familiar).  Here I was being very angry at our builder for leaving us and creditors without money and now the shoe is on the other foot.

We have our house on the market at a bargain price (below cost), however will hopefully be enough to pay the banks and the creditors. So, if you know anyone with a lazy $1.6M plus then please send them to the Hookers website.

So the challenge for Wendy and I is to rebuild our future which we have done before and we will rise to this challenge again so please do not worry about us. We have our health, our love for each other and our family (I think that’s a plus, although I think we come into the category of unpaid carers. I’m sure our wonderful govt will have some amazing benefits that they can throw our way so I can be a stay at home Poppy!!!!)
 
The Chamber:

I just want to thank all of you to allow me to be part of the chamber. It was indeed an honour and privilege to have known and worked with each of you. In particular I would like to say to Ken and Paula that I have so much respect for your dedication and commitment to this town. I hope that the town really does appreciate the work done by all of the chamber since we are volunteers.

I am very proud of our achievements and our plans we have all developed to support business and the community. To all the knockers I would like to challenge you to become involved and help get this beautiful town back on the path to recovery. The MBS provides a road map for the future. We can follow a different path, as long as we all unite with a shared vision with one voice.
 
The Council:

Despite all the negativity from various people, I would like to congratulate and thank Julia Leu, Liz Collier and other council staff on their efforts and dedication to improving the town. We have so many groups to please within our small town I really like the idea of a 75% approval rule as suggested by the MBS report.

I really hope that you are able to obtain the funds to implement the much needed waterfront project, along with all the “low hanging fruit projects” we have been discussing over the past few months. You have a challenge ahead of you particularly if the community wants you to proceed down the de amalgamation path. Good luck.
 
Businesses:

The three killer costs are debt, wages and rent. Unfortunately I believe the number of vacant shops will increase over the next 3-5 years. I can see that many businesses may decide to set up portable shops and only operate during the season and simply withdraw before the low season commences.

I can see that the rents will eventually correct themselves and the previous top end benchmark of $1000/sqm/pa will drop to $300-$400. There will be a great opportunity for new businesses who are cashed up and can operate in a low cost environment. These businesses will eventually prosper. In the meantime it will be a tough existence for many businesses in town.
 
The Challenge:

I wish to leave the town with a challenge.

I have no confidence that Port is capable of turning around in the next 10 years. Certainly the banks, my business advisors and the liquidator believe there is a lot more pain to come. Reversing the “tourist massification” identified in the MBS report so that Port will once again become a premium tourist destination,  will not happen within the next 10 years.

My challenge to Port Douglas is to prove me wrong. When we come back to Port in 10 years time I want people to say I was wrong. If not I’ll be booking a $50 a night room in 1 star accommodation, eating take away, shopping in a “nothing over $5” shop. So please prove me wrong since this is not a very appealing thought.
 
Farewell:
We have met so many wonderful people in this beautiful town and have made lifelong friendships. We are richer for the experience and at least we can say that we have lived life to the fullest and given it our best shot. Wendy and I would like to thank everyone for their friendship and support and we will maintain contact with many of you.
 
Warmest regards and Farewell

Doug and Wendy

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