Right now "keep the doors open, anyway you can, we need to...

Right now "keep the doors open, anyway you can, we need to report open store numbers" is the internal communication. And you are correct they freshen it up to try to look new but the landlord just wants the rent. A huge issue is is RFG thinking they were smart by being head on lease and not getting the franchisee to sign up while they continued to trade. Some are still not signed up and trading and RFG is paying the rent. The report does have some notes around counting trading stores. I think 90 non trading stores, of which if head on lease and for sale RFG is paying the rent with nil income.

2 years is certainly not old and I have been in hundreds of the stores and some are unchanged from over 10 years ago. Huge lack of direction in what the stores should look like and the cost involved with the refurbs using the companies and equipment RFG must be used adds a tidy sum to the figure.

The increase in rents in declining centres won't ever be front page news with some of the biggest landlords spending so much in advertising in papers and more because the results of those landlords will directly impact on share prices and in turn most Australian share portfolio's linked to Superannuation. And who is going to trigger that ?