More businesses have announced they are moving out of the experimental shopping mall on the first floor of Reid Hall/Windsor Place, in Hamilton.

Both The Bristol Cellar wine store and The Bermuda Sunglass Centre are leaving at the end of the month.

The mall has been a financial disaster for several small retailers since it was opened three years ago, just before the Bermuda recession began to bite in earnest.

Jelato's ice cream parlour, Tanya Js boutique and The Complete Athlete have all gone out of business.

And Fourways' Peg Leg Grill closed down because it was not making a profit.

One failed enterprise lost as much as $150,000, according to its owner, who did not want to be named.

And some tenants claim the most popular "business'' is the Bank of Bermuda's cash machine.

"But once people have taken their money out, they go downstairs and spend it elsewhere,'' said Mr. Michael Swan, who runs the State of the Art framing and art store.

With rents as high as $3.75 per square foot per month, some retailers are paying as much as $4,500 a month in rent and, for many, it is too much to survive.

Before the mall was opened, storeowners said they were told to expect traffic amounting to about ten percent of the 3,500 or so people who daily visit the busy ground level, where The Phoenix Centre and Fourways' Gourmet Store are located.

But those estimates by joint landlords Kitson & Co. and the BDC group of companies have proven to be over-optimistic.

Mrs. Doris Brooks, who ran Jelato's, said: "The traffic there is virtually zero. I have definitely been disappointed because it turned out to be not what I anticipated and I lost a lot of money.'' Mrs. Brooks was paying $1,672 per month for a 500 square foot site, plus a $503 maintenance fee and a $2,000 annual overall maintenance fee.

Mr. Swan, who said his business was struggling badly, added: "Business has been desperately slow. Shoppers just don't seem to find their way up here.'' Reid Hall and Windsor Place are separately owned by the BDC group of companies and Kitson & Co., respectively.

The two buildings have a common entrance on six floors and are jointly managed by the two companies.

But BDC and Kitson's have a different approach towards tenants who run into financial trouble, according to past and former tenants.

Storeowners on the BDC side have to buy their way out of their lease -- at a rate of 50 percent for every month of non-occupation.

But failed tenants in the Kitson section are given more leeway and, in at least two cases, have been freed from their five-year leases at no extra cost.

Several people criticised the business style of Mr. Reid Young, vice president of BDC, accusing him of being too inflexible.

Some storeowners on the BDC side said they were having problems negotiating rent reductions, which they felt they were entitled to in light of the mall not living up to expectations.

Mr. Young did not want to comment, saying: "I don't think it's appropriate.'' Kitson & Co. has a far more compassionate approach to their tenants, said business owners.

The company freed Tanya J's boutique and The Complete Athlete from their lease after both firms went bust.

Mr. Kirk Kitson, president of Kitson & Co., said his company was flexible towards inexperienced entrepreneurs who go bust despite trying their best.

But he said the company was no soft touch.

"We're flexible when necessary, but we take a different approach to established businesses with a lot of experience behind them,'' he added. He admitted: "The first floor has been a problem for us. Stores have not been as successful as we would have liked.'' Kitson's section of the mall was now moving more towards service/retail operations, he said.

Empty spaces on Kitson's side will soon be filled by American Airlines and Air Canada, which will complement Kitson's own travel centre already there.

They have yet to find a new tenant for the former Peg Leg Grill site, though.

Not all was doom and gloom among retailers in the BDC section.

Mr. John Casling, who is moving The Bermuda Sunglass Centre to the old PW's shop on Front Street, said his outlet at the mall was profitable.

"This is a business decision,'' he said. "We're putting an operation on Front Street and want to incorporate our Sunglass Centre there.'' BDC had offered him the chance to buy out of his lease but he said he might keep it on and sub-let the site.

Mr. Graham Boyle, owner of The Sports Locker, said: "We're not moving, although we might be the only ones left soon.

"We're doing all right because we have built a solid customer client base and people come up here specially to shop with us.''