Friday 4 January 2013

2012 – The Year That Was

A tough year for traders is behind us but we’d like to look at some of the highlights of 2012 through the eyes of the trader’s website.

Some Significant Stories
-          Traders Make Submission To Council. This wasn’t the first submission made by a group of traders to the MCC but it was the first by General Merchandise Traders and it related to our ongoing campaign for recognition as an important part of the market’s make-up.
-          Best Coffee – And The Winner Is. This was a bit of fun but traders certainly got involved in choosing the market cafe that made the best coffee.
-          General Merchandise Still Short-changed In Tourist Brochures. An ongoing battle with management and the MCC is getting recognition for the contribution made by General Merchandise particularly in the tourist market.
-          Traders Meet With Lord Mayor. A letter to the Lord Mayor of Melbourne by one of our traders started the ball rolling for a series of meetings to discuss the future of the market.
-          Dear Mr. Doyle - Our Future ...YourSay - No.1. This article was chosen because of the huge response from traders on a variety of issues.
-          Grouping Stalls – The Case For.  Who can forget the furore cause by this suggestion.
-          Tenants Force Malls To Cut Rents. This is one of many articles on retail rent reductions during 2012 and when it came to QVM in the November rent review we had a win (no increase for SL Traders) and a loss (a small increase for PE Traders).
-          Mass Meeting To Examine QVM FutureA significant event in 2012 was the first meeting of all traders with the CEO of the MCC, The MCC design guru Rob Adams, and the Chair of the QVM Board, Paul Guerra.
-          What Do You Think Of M Shed? The new String Bean Alley concept gains comments from traders.
-          Traders Refer Tourism Request ToBoard. The long battle to get focussed marketing to tourists is referred to the QVM Board.
-          TAC Election Results. A well contested election of trader’s representatives reaches conclusion.
-          Restrained Feedback Meeting LaysFramework. The headline attempted to show some optimism but this meeting with the MCC and QVM Board was a fizzer.
-          STOP PRESS – The QVM A Winner InCouncil Elections. Robert Doyle’s re-election was seen a positive although not all agreed.
-          Leah and Austin Charm Neal Mitchell. As the debate over the future of the QVM hots up, a Neil Mitchell live broadcast from the market gains attention.
-          What Is QVM? This question was raised at a TAC meeting and is significant as we plan to review many aspects of the market’s operation heading in to 2013.