OPINION: While I was growing up, the "mall" was an enticing idea.

Malls were where the teenagers hung out in Clueless, and that Avril Lavigne music video. They were a symbol of big cities and material luxury - even if my income was limited to a weekly 50c coin, simply being in a mall would be enough.

Then I finally visited DressMart in Tawa with my sisters, and was not just bored out of my mind, but actively depressed.

MAARTEN HOLL/ FAIRFAX NZ Wainuomata Shopping Centre's carpark.

With the news that Johnsonville's mall is in trouble - hot on the heels of news of other struggling malls all over the country, we decided to put together a list of the nation's saddest malls. I mean no ill will or disrespect to any of those employed or managing these malls - the problems are usually completely out the control of any one person.

WHAT IS A SAD MALL?

A sad mall is one that is slowly failing. Maybe it's the most visible symbol of a town whose whole economy is in trouble. Maybe it's just not luring customers away from online options and into stores. Whatever is causing the sad mall to struggle, the sad mall will bring down all who enter it.



READ MORE:

* Invercargill's only mall sells for $1.8 million at auction​

* Fears for the future of Wellington's Johnsonville mall as retailers pack up

* Girl on the Swing shuts city store, council and city business association disappointed



Sad malls are easy to spot. The almost empty parking lot. The grandiose architecture from the 1980s, slowly decaying. The empty storefronts, the shops where everything is on sale, the dim cafe with six stale sandwiches and no coffee that makes Mr Bun look like the Ritz Carlton.



WAINUIOMATA MALL

MAARTEN HOLL/ FAIRFAX NZ Countdown's plans for reviving the mall are likely to include surrounding the supermarket with smaller shops, cafes and takeaways.

Anyone who's visited Wainui has probably visited the huge 1970s mall, which sits in the centre of the suburb. The supermarket and McDonalds are based inside the complex, bringing visitors from far and wide.



But as for actual retail, things are going extremely badly. Over half the stores are now vacant.



So what went wrong? Well - some would point to Wainui's broader problems. There are very few places to work in the Lower Hutt suburb since most industry left the area 40 years ago. Most people commute to Wellington over the hill - including 800 of the 1600 school aged children.

(Although if you're wondering who you will find at the mall, it's mostly surly teenagers, along with discarded bourbon and coke cans.)



But bedroom communities can usually still support a mall - another problem is competition. Lower Hutt's Westfield Queensgate mall is only a short drive away, and offers a whole lot more. Rough times.

Bookseller Mark Esdot probably put it best. "There's plenty of money in Wainui but the problem for retailers is people don't shop there."

FAIRFAX NZ Hamilton's CBD itself is not in a great place.

HAMILTON CENTRAL

Everyone who I know in Hamilton (disclosure: two people) tells me this mall is a weird place that very few people visit, despite it's "central" location.



Christmas decorations stay up year around, and the homeless occasionally sleep within.

But this might not be entirely the mall's fault. Hamilton's city centre is not doing so well. Some blame the changes to Garden Place, which saw grassy areas replaced with concrete. Others blame "The Base", a gigantic mall a short drive to the north.

CHRISTEL YARDLEY/FAIRFAX NZ Many shops in the Hamilton CBD are up for lease - it's not just the mall that is in trouble.

It's extremely hard to keep a smaller sized mall competitive in a city where most people drive anyway, and many wish to avoid your area.



But perhaps things aren't so bad! I found a third Hamiltonian to speak to, and she was adamant that while the mall had seen bad times, it was back on the up, with a serious amount of new investment. Speaking of new investment, let's head south.

SOUTH CITY MALL

Despite its status as the only mall in a city of 50,000, Invercargill's South City is a certified sad mall.

JOHN HAWKINS/FAIRFAX NZ Invercargill South City Mall which sold for $1.8 million at auction.

The roof leaks, so tenants use cardboard boxes to keep puddles from forming in the forecourt. The toilets aren't exactly world class.

The entire complex sold for just $1.8 million at auction - around the price of a single storefront on the main street in town, or an okay house in a desirable Auckland suburb.



That low price seems even more confounding when you consider the mall went through a $250,000 renovation in 2015.



But things aren't necessarily as sad as they seem: the mall doesn't have any empty stores, and a new cafe opened just last Friday.

In other words: a sad mall is not necessarily doomed mall. It might just need a bit of time.

Supplied The Southern entrance to Southmall in Manurewa.

SOUTHMALL MANUREWA

According to some of my older colleagues, this mall was "once glittering". Now, the vibe is more "uninviting, if not dangerous".

Opened in 1967, this shopping centre was one of the earliest malls in New Zealand. But the Westfield Manakau City just up the road appears to have slowly brought its fortunes down.

On review site Yelp, one reviewer compares a visit to wondering into a horror film.

"Whenever someone looked at me, I busied myself with my phone, almost expecting to be kidnapped."

Ouch.

MARINERS MALL

Like many of us, I've been trapped in Picton while waiting for a ferry.

Perhaps "trapped" is too mean. I've enjoyed myself in Picton! There's a fun playground, decent fish and chips, even an okay cafe or two.

But Mariners Mall is not a shining light in this seaside town.

Recently, the post office in this tiny mall closed, folding itself into the supermarket and causing a little bit of controversy.

Now instead of the post office, a hallway in the mall just leads to...nothing.

Of course, a mall is more than just a post office and a supermarket. A colleague notes that Mariners Mall also features a "weird copycat Lollipops playground".

That sounds bad - but if you're waiting for a ferry and have kids to keep busy, you could do a lot worse.

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