For 18 years he has run Zodiac Antiques Books and Records on King Edward St, watching the rise and fall of small stores and the arrival of giant department stores.
The town's fortunes have moved in cycles, he told the Otago Daily Times.
Years ago, it was the butchers who closed, one after another, leaving only a handful - now it was the second-hand stores that were going, he said.
"Most of them have closed. You would be lucky if there's two or three genuine second-hand stores left," he said.
"It has a die-off and then it all comes back again."
More recent arrivals, including banks, had breathed some life into the shopping district, as had the larger arrivals - The Warehouse, Pak'n Save and Mitre 10 Mega department stores.
However, smaller stores further down King Edward St could miss out on the benefits the extra foot traffic the large chains attracted.
Many of the big stores' customers were on one-stop shopping expeditions, driving into the area to visit the large chains and then heading home, he believed.
The large destination stores also brought negatives, such as more traffic congestion, which was an increasing problem at intersections, he said.
He supported moves to improve the shopping area's green spaces, saying more trees or park benches for lunches would "certainly make a difference", and some shop owners had already taken steps to improve their buildings, he said.
However, the real strength of the town's shopping area was the sense of community, which needed to be preserved, he said.
"We all know each other and say hello. There's a good wee personal touch to it."
