It was lucky for Jenny and Michael Li, the owners of Nextra in Post Office Square, that they had been in business long enough, and the retail sector in particular, to recognise the opportunity the centre represented – despite their first years owning the newsagents being marked by Covid lockdowns.

In February 2019, the pair took ownership of the store, which has been a tenant of Post Office Square for over 20 years and struggled to keep the business viable during the pandemic.

“Despite that, we wanted to re-sign our lease and take on a new location within Post Office Square because it is the best location in the CBD with high traffic flows because of the trains [out of Central Station] in the mornings and afternoons as well as a strong lunch time traffic flow,” Michael Li explained.

The pair re-signed their lease for the centre and agreed to take on a new 126sqm location which features an open plan layout and direct sight lines to the Adelaide Street entrance.

The new premises are set to open for business next week.

Michael Li said the newsagent has one of the largest ranges of magazines in the CBD with some 500 titles in store, covering everything from fashion to economics and special interests such as aircraft, trains, music and sport. The store is one of the largest sellers of Lotto tickets in the CBD.

Speaking about the refurbishment of Post Office Square, the couple who are very much hands-on owners of the business, said it was an exciting time for tenants of the centre.

“We love that the centre will have a fresh new, modern look heralding a strong new era post-Covid for the business owners and the centre will also have a strong contingent of food retailers to cater to the high lunch time trade from surrounding offices,” Michael Li said.

“We are very excited to be part of the new history of Post Office Square.”

Nextra in Post Office Square is open between 6am and 6pm, Monday to Friday and between 9am and 3pm on Saturdays.