On the couch with Angela Leonard

Community support and encouraging people to back local retailers are important factors in today’s climate. We talk to Morrison Square Centre manager, Angela Leonard, about ‘shopping local’ and helping to assist the wider community.

How long have you been in the role of centre manager, tell us a little about your background?

I have been in the role at Morrison Square for five years. My background started in the hotel and hospitality industry, then onto export freight forwarding and logistics. My husband and I owned a very successful retail and wholesale seafood business called City Seafood Market in Christchurch. I also have worked in the fashion industry and am a qualified stylist.

How important is the ‘Shop and Support Local’ movement to our smaller retailers?  

This is extremely important in today’s climate. Without local support your favourite eatery or retailer may not be operational when you pop into town next. Ongoing support will be needed. There is also a necessity to remain positive and thoughtful towards others. We need to get on collectively. Businesses have had to change and adapt especially over the last two years with Covid and think outside the square without fault of their own. Having to rethink business and financial plans, forward planning and staffing changes, numerous businesses have had to make significant changes that have affected them and their staff.  

I understand giving back to the community is an important element to you, what would be some of the highlights?

Giving back and supporting the community is a high priority and something we feel strongly about here at Morrison Square. We are part of the community and want to assist where we can. Highlights over the past years would be namely our annual fashion show for the Nelson Regional Breast and Gynaecological Cancer Trust. We have raised close to $100K over the last four years for this amazing organisation that supports local breast and gynecological cancer patients and their families throughout the top of the South Island. With use of some of these funds, we also assisted with the purchase of the breast sentinel probe at Nelson Hospital.  We also support a number of charities, community groups and schools with sponsorship and donations.   Including The Brook Sanctuary and an NCC initiative called Makeshift Spaces and Cultural Conversations, a community-based hub which involves empowering and building relationships with former refugee and migrant communities.

What can visitors expect from Morrison Square in the future?  

We are currently in the process of painting the centre and the amenities area. We have just completed the family room which is now a great area for parents to visit with their children. We have just had Flo & Frankie join the centre which has been a fantastic addition to the mix we currently have. We look forward to welcoming more businesses into Morrison Square. We hope we can host more fun filled community events here again soon.