Latest Retail News – 17/4/2016

Latest Retail News – 17/4/2016
1. Fake Oregano found in Australian supermarkets.
2. Caltex to add haircuts and dry-cleaning to their petrol station/ convenience store model.
3. H&M blames 29% first quarter profit fall on currency and weather.
4. Designer fashion retailer, Incu, reopens expanded store in QV Centre.
5. Food delivery apps increase competition in food retail sector.
6. Uniqlo parent announce first half profit decline of 33%.
7. Good Guys explore possibility of share market listing.
8. Specialty Fashion Group (Millers, Katies, Rivers) to launch City Chic brand in Myer stores.
9. Wesfarmers share price hit by Target scandal.
10. Electrolux closes fridge factory, moves all manufacturing overseas.
11. Marimekko launches Australian e-commerce site.
12. UBS says lower prices better option than loyalty programs for retailers.
13. Solomon Lew inducted into World Retail Hall of Fame.
14. Tesco expect to return to full year profit.
15. Online fashion retailer, Stylerunner’s founder Julie Stevanja, named Young Retail Entrepreneur of the Year at the World Retail Awards.
16. Target’s Geelong headquarters to be moved closer to Melbourne.
17. Major egg producer fined $300,000 for dubious “free range” claims.

Target In Strife Over Accounting Methods

Key retailer, Target, is under the spotlight after Wesfarmers announced it was investigating accounting methods used in the first half business report.

It is suspected that Target inflated its earnings for the first half of 2015/16 by negotiating supplier rebate deals. Apparently suppliers gave rebates on goods with the understanding they would be recouped with higher prices later in the year.

It is believed that new boss Guy Russo uncovered the scheme shortly after taking office in March. Target’s Managing Director has decided to resign.

Melbourne's Retail & Hospitality Industry Booming

Melbourne City Council has reported that the city’s retail and hospitality industry is at a record high with the contribution to Melbourne’s economy up 13% since 2013.

Some features of the report include – 
- Retail and hospitality accounts for six per cent of Melbourne’s $90.6 billion economy.
- Last year alone we have hosted more than 11 million visitors and our hotel occupancy rates remain high at 86 per cent.
- Retail and hospitality floor space occupancy is up three per cent to more than 2.78 million m2
Recent data also shows there are 1,418 hotel rooms under construction and 3,265 hotel rooms have planning approval and are likely to begin construction in the next two years. There are a further 4,822 hotel rooms in the pipeline.
- More than 35,000m2 of retail space is under construction.

Plans for the coming year include -

• Supporting major retail developments including the St Collins Lane due to open in May 2016.
• Leveraging opportunities with major conferences as well as our bumper events calendar.
• Ongoing engagement and collaboration with business and industry particularly around the Melbourne Metro Rail Project, Flinders Street Station redevelopment, QVM renewal project and the review of the current strategy.

The full report is available here - Retail and Hospitality Strategy Report 2014-15

Have Your Say - click here.

Personalising Your Retail Offer

This is a plug for an upcoming webinar, but it is free, and you may gain some interesting insights into the growing trend to personalising your offer to customers. McDonalds are doing it with customer designed burgers and perhaps there are opportunities in your product range at The Queen Victoria Market.

It's all about me!

Personalising the retail offer

[FREEINTERACTIVE WEBINAR]

In today’s increasingly fragmented yet hyper-connected society, consumer behaviour can no longer be predicted, and yet all voices still need to be heard. As retailers attempt to be more relevant to their target audiences, and cater to their unique needs, retailers are adapting their service offers and store experience strategies to engage with prosumers.

By encouraging consumers to become the active producers of their own products, opening up the supply chain, brands have the opportunity to still have major impact within their desired audiences, whilst lessening the risk factor. According to Marketingmag.com, “brand conversations with the ‘me-economy’ are the big opportunity.”

Join  Retail Doctor Group and the National Retail Association on Wednesday 27^th April 2016 at 13:00 EST in their next Digital Business Kit interactive webinar to reflect on the power of personalising your retail offer.

This webinar is built by retailers for retailers, so submit your own questions or real life scenarios when you register to be discussed LIVE in the webinar!
 

Got a question on the most effective way to personalise your retail offer?

Submit your questions when you register to get the most out of this interactive webinar.

Here is the link - Free Webinar

Market Rent Reduction Extended

This happened at Leeds Kirkgate Market in the UK but it relates to a rent reduction during construction work on a building refurbishment so it is of interest in view of QVM’s upcoming renewal.

Leeds City Council introduced a 20% rent reduction last year to mitigate the effect of a A$25 million refurbishment of the historic market. The rent reduction was to end at 31^st  March 2016 but traders have successfully negotiated an extension until hoardings are removed to reveal the works that started in March 2015.  

The market refurbishment has been under way for the past year and although the council insists “much work has taken place to minimise disruption to trade”, it has agreed to “extend the existing arrangements to offset the current trading conditions”.

Have Your Say – click here.

Heard Under The Sheds

Camel Rides Unhealthy? – some concern was expressed over last Sunday’s camel rides coming in close proximity to fresh food and drink. The camels were a very sensible family fun addition particularly in conjunction with the Spice Trade promotion on Queen St. but perhaps organisers need to watch the proximity to food.

Stall Shifting Creates Tension – the top end of our market is seeing a high level of stall shifting as the market adjusts to accommodate new activities like the food court at F Shed/ Peel St. and the new specialty markets at the top of C Shed. Most of these changes seem to be achieved without fuss although two recent moves have raised the hackles of a couple of traders who adhere to the old idea that competitors should be as far away as possible.

Stall Spreading – the preliminary survey work has been completed and we are now waiting on a sub-committee to meet and come up with recommendations for a formal policy.

Bollards - the installation of new bollards in the top end will help keep vehicles out of pedestrian areas during trading hours and the safety aspect is commendable. At least one trader  has suggested that bollards should also seal off access to undershed parking in RK/RL on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Currently vehicles can enter those areas at anytime and block the aisles while the owners shop or unload creating a potential problem in an emergency.

Have Your Say – click here.

UK Markets On The Rise

Mission for Markets is a UK organisation run by The National Association of British Market Authorities and The National Market Traders Federation. So it is a combination of market operators and market traders.

Mission for Markets reports that since 2009, the retail markets sector has shrunk by over a third. £1 billion (A$1.8b)has been wiped from the ledgers and 12,000 businesses have packed up their stalls and ceased trading. The sector now has a collective turnover of £2.5 billion (A$4.58b) a year from around 33,000 market traders.

The sector turned a corner in 2012. Collective turnover has increased by £200 million (A$366m) year on year. NABMA and the NMTF forecast that retail markets will turn over £4 billion (A$7.32b) by 2020. Operators continue to invest in markets, with £36.6 million (A$67m) invested in 2014/2015.

Mission for Markets continues to lobby the UK government and seek greater integration of market activities into town centre offers. They encourage operators and traders to adopt best practise and resource sharing for the good of the whole industry. They say that their industry is undergoing a period of renewal and they encourage change as a positive for the sector.

Invitation To Official Opening of Merlo Coffee

Merlo Coffee are holding a cocktail function on Wednesday 20th April at their F Shed/ Peel St. location and traders are invited. The event will celebrate the opening of the first Merlo Torrefazione (Italian for roasting house) in Melbourne.

It sounds like a good opportunity to meet the Merlo team with a bit more time to chat than we get on a normal trading day.
The function goes from 6:15 to 8:00pm and you can RSVP here - rsvp@kathrose.com

Building Controls Around QVM

Amendment C245 relates to the Queen Victoria Market Precinct Renewal and aims to amend the built form controls around the market to better reflect the significant changes that have taken place in our part of the city.

Following public consultation a number of submissions were made in relation to the amendment and an independent planning panel has been set up to handle those submissions.  A directions hearing was held on Tuesday 12 April 2016 with the Panel Hearing to commence on Monday 2 May 2016. The panel members are Trevor McCullough, Lorina Nervegna and Tania Quick.

Amendment C245 proposes to:

• apply a public use zone to the Queen Victoria Market to reflect its ongoing importance as a community place. As a registered heritage place, development of the site will continue to be subject to permits from Heritage Victoria
• protect the existing heritage sheds and the new open space from overshadowing
• ensure adequate sunlight
• provide environmental wind control – promoting comfortable pedestrian conditions at street level.

Further details are available from the CoM website.

Traders Get Recognition

Hard work, long hours, standing on your feet for 9 hours each day, sacrificing normal family life, and suffering the perils of fickle business trends, are all well known ingredients for market traders. Fortunately someone understands.

The City of Melbourne believes that small businesses including QVM Market Traders deserve recognition for the outstanding contribution they make to the fabric of our city. And they recognise that contribution through the Lord Mayor’s Commendations.

Any business with 10 years continuous trading can apply for a commendation with various levels depending on your years of service. It is free to enter, you attend a special function at the Town Hall one evening, mix with other traders and city business recipients, have your photo taken, receive your award and generally enjoy the warmth of appreciation from the city administrators. Many market traders have received awards over the years and we recommend your participation.

Follow this link for more details – Lord Mayor’s Commendations.

Trader Ideas Session Cancelled

TRADER UPDATE:11/4/2016

The Trader Ideas Session scheduled for Tuesday 12th April has been cancelled. The QVMAC will discuss the future role of this type of trader engagement at its next meeting.



We have some really challenging times ahead of us at QVM. Following is a great opportunity to join other traders and management representatives in an informal discussion about issues affecting your business. 

If you have some views you would like to express or you would just like to hear what other traders and management representatives have to say, we recommend you attend.

Traders, Queen Vic Market wants to hear from you!

This is an open invitation to all traders to attend the next Trading Ideas session scheduled for Tuesday 12th April (3:30 - 5:30). These monthly sessions continue to provide an opportunity for management and traders to get together in an informal setting to share ideas and information about a range of themes.

Session 5: Improving Our Service to Traders (Part 2) - trader development/support and enforcement of rules

As we move through the process of renewal, we understand you would like to see an improvement in our service to you. We will be working hard to build a more customer focussed management company and we want your help.

At our March Trading Ideas session, the discussion focussed heavily on communications between management and traders. Those who attended gave us some terrific feedback on how best to build and sustain improved approaches to management and trader communications.

This next session will focus on two more important areas that traders told us they would like to see considered; trader development/support and enforcement of rules.

Please ensure that you book a place if you wish to attend.

Tuesday 12th April 2016 
3:30pm to 5:30pm
Engagement Hub
452 Queen Street

RSVP: 

By email: info@qvm.com.au
By phone: (03) 9320 5822
In person: At F1 Information Centre

QVMAC Meeting 7/4/2016

Thursdays QVM Advisory Committee meeting covered a number of issues and we will attempt to list the key points before official minutes become available.

Chinese/Lunar New Year – at our last meeting we asked that the City of Melbourne consider name changing Chinese New Year to Lunar New Year in view of the other nationalities involved in this celebration. We have been advised that the term Chinese New Year will be used again in 2017 but then reviewed for 2018.

Renewal Program Update: Project director, Joanne Wandel gave a brief rundown indicating that the first stage of implementation is still expected by mid year. Final best offers on the Munro site construction project have been received. Amendment C245 objections will be heard by an independant panel.

Marketing Update: A number of marketing initiatives were mentioned and we will wait for the official minutes before listing but special reference was made to Chinese tourism on the back of CoM marketing plans.

          Trader Representative Ivano Guseli presented the results of discussions with traders to determine the impact of Chinese tourism and indicated that there were strong responses in categories like opals, declining responses in Ugh Boots, and virtually no response in categories like photography. Chinese tourism is often painted as a key ingredient for Melbourne retailers but there are question marks over its relevance at QVM. We do know that organised tours for Chinese tourists often bypass QVM.

          The CoM Winter Marketing campaign is about to get underway including a focus on food and markets.

          The Australian Tourism Exchange event will take place mid May on the Gold Coast and QVM will be represented as they attempt to establish links with ITO’s (Inbound Tourism Operators).

Operation Update:

Stall Spreading – Management and traders are keen to formalise a policy. Feedback from traders has been received and the results of a survey have been published. The next step will be to discuss options and organise a meeting of interested traders to formulate policy recommendations. All participants were congratulated on the speed and professionalism of this process so far.

Christmas Holidays 2016 – Christmas Day falls on Sunday this year with Boxing Day on a Monday and Tuesday becoming a public holiday in lieu. Some doubts were expressed about the ability of food traders to obtain supplies for Tuesday trading. General Merchandise representatives expressed a view that the Tuesday would be designated a normal trading day for the top end at this busy time of year.

Critical Response Meeting – as a follow up to the discussion on emergency procedures we have been advised that a critical response team will evaluate the QVM precinct.

Plants In Boxes – the neglect of plants in planter boxes will be addressed by including the care of plants in this year’s cleaning contract. Temporary arrangements will be made until that contract is finalised.

Extreme Heat Policy: Marina Levitsky assured representatives that a draft letter detailing the new policy would be emailed that day.

Trader Assessment Criteria: Management have trial tested a possible new format for trader assessment. A meeting of the sub-committee including Trader Representatives will be held shortly to further test the format and agree on a draft proposal.

Trader Election Update: Discussions on a new electorate break-up for the election of Trader Representatives detailing 13 electorates each with 2 representatives (only one to attend meetings). The possibility of an imminent Federal Election has meant that the Victorian Electoral Commission is unable to conduct a trader election before the end of August.

Next Meeting: Thursday 28^th April 2016.

Have Your Say - click here.

What Does "Market of Markets" Mean?

The vision of QVM as a “market of markets” has been well documented but when one of our traders asked the simple question, “what does it mean?” the answer was not quite so simple.

Before we reveal our take on the phrase we thought we should look at some references in formal QVM documentation -

The QVM Master Plan contained a number of references to “market of markets” including –

Strategic Directions: “Strategic Direction 1-  A Market of Markets. A place that supports and encourages sustainable market trading in all its varieties → Upgrade existing facilities → Welcome people seven days a week → Support emerging small businesses → Introduce new markets and attract new customers → Encourage longer visits.”

Summary of key master plan proposals: - “Queen Victoria Market will be a ‘market of markets’, with a distinctive offer and experience in each of its main trading quarters, interlinked by a network of attractive public spaces and connected to the surrounding city by high quality streetscapes.”

The Strategic Brief for QVM renewal said “The Queen Victoria Market precinct is home to a diverse range of markets with something for everyone.”

And here is our take –

The Queen Victoria Market celebrates markets as a wonderfully stimulating way of doing business. Our environment offers vibrancy, energy, freshness, smell, and noise, but above all personal contact with passionate knowledgeable vendors.

And we exhibit all those characteristics through a whole range of markets, from car boot sales to high end food shops, with relevance to a whole range of customers including locals, regional and interstate visitors, and international tourists. We provide for children, young adults, adults and seniors. We have goods for all spending levels, for rich and poor.

We are a fresh food market, a ready-to-eat food market, a clothing market, a souvenir market, and the list goes on.

We operate day markets, night markets, and special occasion markets. We are a market for consumers, a market for businesses, a market for communities and a market for sellers.

We are indeed – “A market of markets for all humanity”

Have Your Say –click here.

QVM Loses A True Gentleman

Trader Arnold Scheiner passed away this week. Sonia and

Arnold operate a clothing stall at the market which is famous for its monumental display of work wear and outdoor wear. 
Arnold's gentle nature and charming smile will be sorely missed by customers and traders alike.
Our sincere sympathies go out to Sonia and family.

Have Your Say - click here.

Trader's Comment Reviewed

Would the trader who submitted a comment on victraders.com late Sunday night regarding the future direction of QVM please contact us for a discussion on the points they raised.

The comment contained elements which breach our editorial standards ( see article -http://www.victraders.com/2016/03/editorial-control-on-victraderscom.html ) but also contained some interesting points and showed a passion for QVM that we would like to share with others.

If you would like to expand on your thinking in a way that can be published we would love to hear from you. You can of course remain anonymous and you may simply wish to rewrite your comments in accordance with our guidelines or we can sit down and do that together.

Greg Smith

0406222020

Latest Retail News - 3/4/2016

Latest Retail News – 3/4/2016
1. CBRE says international retailers have lifted Australian CBD rents by 12% in 2015.
2. David Jones awarded first place for the ‘New or Completely Renovated Full-line Department Store’ in international competition.
3. Woolworths to drop 33 year old “Homebrand” label in favour of “Essentials”.
4. Sumo Salad and Sneakerboy receive innovation awards from international consultancy.
5. Alibaba set to surpass Wal-Mart as world’s largest retailer.
6. One of the world’s largest sport retailers, Decathlon, to enter Australian market.
7. All Dick Smiths stores will close by April 30th.
8. Solomon Lew, is set to become Australia’s first inductee into the World Retail Hall of Fame.
9. Myer, The Good Guys, Shoes of Prey, Kikki K and Stylerunner are all finalists in the World Retail Awards to be announced April 14th in Dubai.
10. McDonalds plans Asian expansion with flexibility to adjust for local cuisine.

April Fool Jokes Can Be So Cruel

We love our technology at Victraders.com ( there is something about being all high tech in a 140 year old market) and news of the latest 3D printer to come on the market struck us as an essential tool for every small business.

According to the report – “Krispy Kreme Doughnuts have launched a 3D doughnut printer which allows consumers to 3D print their own little moments of delectable joy at just the touch of a button. Each limited edition printer costs just $8990 and comes with 12 pods of Krispy Kreme’s world famous special glaze.” 

A link for more details revealed the announcement – "3Doughnut Printer is not an actual product. April Fools!!" An April Fool joke is one thing, but this is just down-right cruelty to all coffee and doughnut lovers.

While we drowned our sorrows in leftover easter eggs, we came across the following list of genuine (?) April Fools jokes for 2016.
Australian Tennis Open – courts will be surfaced with timber for the 2017 season.
Coles – will introduce “hover trolleys” to avoid jammed trolley wheels forever.
Ford – will introduce colour lighting into their vehicles to match your mood.
Vodafone – introducing Voda-drones to cover the 3% of the population not currently covered on their network.
eHarmony – in conjunction with Wild Life Sydney Zoo is starting a pet dating service.

And for a bit of homespun humour –
Queen Victoria Market - is to be renamed Queen Elizabeth Market in honour of the monarch’s 90th birthday.

Some people just have too much spare time.

Huge New Towers Near Market

While we wait for the final selection of a preferred developer for the Munro site, a nearby development is revealed with twin towers to be among the tallest in Melbourne.

Queens Place, just a block away from the market on the corner of Queen and A'Beckett streets will house an astonishing 1600 apartments.

According to an article in ArchitectureAU the design aims to connect with the context of the QVM development. “We know the market precinct is about to change quite dramatically,” said Patrick Ness, design director at Cox Architecture. “Our early thought was […] to generate a project that links in with the broader streetscape.”

COMMENTS:
From the QVM Traders Facebook page 3/4/2016- "You're kidding yourselves if you think any of the redevelopment of the market had anything to do with the market itself ... Sorry to say, I believe It's all about the prime real estate." - Drita McLennan

Easy New Credit Card Facility

Traders can now consider an alternative to the big banks and PayPal. Square is a small business debit/credit card facility that operates from mobile phones. It has been around for a while but recently opened an Australian office and has become more active in the field.

Square was one of the early adopters of a credit card reader than plugs into the audio port of a smart phone and enables small businesses including market traders to accept card payments for goods. The device will handle card strips or chip’n’pin processes and manual card number entries can also be made. For certain transactions under $35 you can also skip the need for a PIN.

According to the Square website the standard fee is 1.9% of the value of the transaction and there are no long term contracts to sign. The reader itself costs $19 and the software can be downloaded as a free app from the Apple and Android stores.

If you wish to find out more go to the Square website for more detail and look out for news of a workshop to be held at Federation Square on 11^th April - details in the Trader Bulletin.

Have Your Say - click here.

New Market 2 - Car Boot Sale

Here are some shots from Sunday's special market at the top of C Shed with the first example of a traditional car-boot sale. This market was described as a Car Boot/Trash'n'Treasure sale and is open to members of the public who wish to sell their no-longer needed clothing and homewares.

The presentation certainly appears amateurish, as you would expect. There were the odd items that could possibly attract collectors and this type of market does cater to those looking for a lost treasure. The community aspect of this type of market certainly has merit but does it present the right image for QVM? Opinion is certainly divided although a quick poll of traders suggested that the negative aspects of a Trash'n'Treasure concept probably outweigh any positives. 

Let's see how it progresses each Sunday. We would like to see more signage pushing the community aspect.

Have Your Say - click here.