Extended hours a $50m bonus for Rundle Mall

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AN extra 10,000 people are expected to shop in Rundle Mall each week bringing with them about $50 million more in annual sales as a result of extended trading hours that begin tonight.

About 75 per cent of the Mall's shops will now open until 7pm Monday to Thursday.

The extended hours are expected to flow through to the rest of the city with some East End traders signalling their intention to stay open later.

Rundle Mall Management Authority chairman Theo Maras said this was an exciting time for Adelaide.

"We've never had this - this is really breaking the mould," he said.

"I certainly believe that once you set a trend in something the others will follow.

"It's a bit like outdoor dining, it took a few years to take off but now everyone demands it."

Mr Maras, founder of Maras Group which owns numerous properties in the East End, said some of their retailers had considered extending their hours.

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"They've said `it's not a bad idea and we'll do the same'," he said.

RMMA general manager Martin Haese said early evening trading was the "first domino to drop".

"Early evening trading stops the tumble weeds rolling down the Mall at 5.30pm and will hopefully trigger a whole raft of other stuff," he said.

"Don't underestimate what effect this will have - this will drive investment."

Mr Haese said the predicted increase to sales figures, from $800 million per year to $850 million, were conservative.

"If CPI (Consumer Price Index) is running at 2 or 2.5 per cent we're looking at something roughly double that," he said.

"We know there are 120,000 city workers and we know that 60,000 don't shop in Rundle Mall so it would not be unreasonable to think that 10 or 12 per cent of those people would now come to shop in Rundle Mall."

Liberal MP for Adelaide, Rachel Sanderson, said the Mall should be made a tourist precinct because interstate and overseas tourists were complaining it was all but closed on public holidays.

"At present only retailers with under 200sq m of floor space are able to open on public holidays but few are willing to unless the larger stores are also operating," she said.