Princess Crossing, 3 years after the fire

The fire that occurred on the morning of 28 May 2012 damaged five shops including Dis-Chem and clothing shop Contempo.

Some shops in the complex were closed for more than a year while Dis-chem moved to the opposite side of the complex and continued operations.

“After the fire, we had to move to a smaller space which was 800m² and we originally operated in a space of 1800m². This affected our business quite a bit but we were fortunate that we were still operating. Other shops could not do the same and had to be closed down for more than six months. Unfortunately people thought we were closed too. We moved back to the original space in September 2013 but we have customers who still come to us surprised that we are open. This year will mark two years since we moved back and business has picked up for us,” said store manager Shaun Bates.

Clothing store Contempo was another store affected by the fire. The store suffered water and smoke damage. Their workers had to be relocated to different branches in Roodepoort while the store remained closed.

“We were closed down for over a year with no business coming but luckily we were moved to other branches so we were not at home doing nothing. After we moved back into Princess Crossing, business has picked up and for us it’s better than before,” said store manager Richardene Kraft.

Major upgrades are expected for the shopping complex in the coming months but management were reluctant to comment.