Retail lease structure can quietly erase margin in Melbourne even when opening-month sales look healthy. This guide focuses on the mistake patterns founders should avoid pre-signing.
This is where founders usually get it wrong: they treat benchmark demand as proof, when it is only a starting hypothesis that still needs local validation.
Most expensive retail lease errors
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How to read this decision
Interpretation: these conditions matter in combination, not isolation. A single strong metric does not cancel a weak demand signal.
Mini real-world scenarios
A location we reviewed last year had healthy median income, but rent reviews were uncapped. Margin disappeared by year two even with stable traffic.
One site showed strong footfall but weak conversion intent. People moved through quickly, and the concept needed destination demand that never formed.
A cafe in an inner Perth strip looked viable on paper, but failed in month five because weekday commuter capture was half of the expected run rate.
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