Maitland's employment and retail sectors have taken another blow with four major retailers set to shut up shop and another two teetering on the brink of collapse.
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While traders in The Levee are already suffering with multiple vacant tenancies, Stockland Green Hills hasn't been left unscathed with a raft of the centre's businesses about to close their doors.
National music and entertainment chain Sanity will close both its Green Hills and Maitland stores on Sunday at 4pm.
Curious Planet (formerly National Geographic) will close its Green Hills store within the next six to eight weeks.
Harris Scarfe announced it will soon close its Green Hills store after the organisation recently went into receivership.
Maitland children's wear business Blues Child broke the news on its Facebook page recently, that its High Street business will wind up at the end of the month.
More recently Jeans West (which has a store at Green Hills) and wine giant McWilliams (Mt Pleasant Wines at Pokolbin), have both gone into voluntary administration. News reports this week said both businesses will continue to trade while administrators scurry to find buyers for the companies.
A Stockland spokesperson said customers continue to provide positive feedback following its $421 million redevelopment in 2018. "We also experienced another month of positive growth in December, and have started this year off strong with healthy patronage and trade," the spokesperson said.
Maitland Business Chamber President Judy Brown said it is disappointing no retailers have approached the chamber for help.
"We're more than just a a networking entity - we also have the ability to get resources for them and for some reason they're not aware of that," Ms Brown said. "The chamber can help with things like assisting with websites, marketing and see if a business's website is getting traffic.
"Online shopping unfortunately will not go away and traders need to approach retail in a very different way these days," she said. "The advantage of me not going to a shopping centre is that I don't have to find a park and the goods are delivered straight to my house.
"Smaller businesses have the ability to flex and change, be a presence in the market and have a point of difference. But the bigger multi-nationals find that harder to do," Ms Brown said.
