Sunday, 19 January 2020

QVM In The News - 19/01/2020



Melbourne City Council is considering ideas for the proposed Market Square on the site of the main carpark at Queen Victoria Market. The carpark ...
... have been charged in relation to a series of thefts on unsuspecting public transport users and shoppers at the Queen Victoria Market during the past ...
A Melbourne City Council plan to build a skyscraper to help fund the $250 million Queen Victoria Market redevelopment faces stiff opposition from ...
... the “sneaky” and “slick” thefts in crowded places such as the Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne Central shopping centre and the Queen Victoria Market.
At Queen Victoria Market, installation of steel bollards along Peel and Elizabeth streets and at the corner of Therry and Elizabeth streets were also ...
... which has seen similar safety measures installed at Flinders Street station, Princes Street Bridge, the Queen Victoria Market and Bourke Street mall.
Victoria's CFA, Australian Red Cross, and WIRES Wildlife Rescue. ... Many traders at the iconic Queen Vic Market will be donating in their own way.
Enjoy the hustle and bustle of the Queen Victoria Markets, the largest ... market to head towards the South Melbourne market and enjoy dimsums or ...
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Sunday, 12 January 2020

Heard Under The Sheds – 12/1/2020



Businesses for sale – a number of market businesses have popped up on Gumtree this week including Viva La Calavera and Nautical Replicas in String Bean Alley, and a children’s clothing business in J Shed. More are expected to follow.

L Shed and String Bean Alley traded for the first time on a Thursday this week and reports were mixed on the day. Although a number of Traders said that Thursday sales looked better after a very quiet Friday. Management confirmed that it will take some time for the precinct to become fully populated on Thursdays.

Healthy Working Environment for Traders – one trader applauds the no smoking ban but asks if management can now turn their attention to protecting Traders on extremely hot and stuffy days. We are wondering if the following photo might show a solution.


Perhaps Pete’s water mister could also be used to put out cigarettes.

Smoking ban – with customers exempt from the smoking ban until City Council activates a city wide ban, a Trader asks if buying a cup of coffee from a market outlet makes him a customer at least for long enough to have a smoke. Traders can be very creative with their questions.

Paper Carry Bags 1 - A Trader reports that he has embraced the paper carry bag option from QVM’s F1 shop because they are cost effective and a lot more convenient than travelling to his bag wholesaler.

Paper Carry Bags 2 – another Trader says he personalises the QVM carry bag with his own colourful tag that attaches to the bag handle and doubles as a business card.

You won’t believe it, but it is true – a customer returned a pair of ear rings to a Trader this week asking for a refund because she had only experienced bad luck since purchasing them. The Trader wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry but in a tick for customer service excellence, agreed to a refund. The Trader’s neighbour suggested a more appropriate response might have been “I can see what you mean by bad luck, because guess what – we don’t give refunds!”

Power outage – a high truck managed to tangle with overhead tram wires at the Dudley St. roundabout on Friday and bring down live cables all along Peel St. adjacent to the market. The tangle of wires caused traffic mayhem. Early reports that Ronnie had caused the outage by turning on three juicers in his van at once proved incorrect.


Have Your Say - click here.

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More Work Needs More Work



The push for more hours and more customer convenience can have downsides and SBA Traders are starting to feel the pinch.

Traders in String Bean Alley started regular trading on a Thursday from this week. This is all part of a plan to bring SBA trading in line with the rest of the market. Tuesday trading is to start later in July, but a number of SBA Traders have asked for a stay of execution.

The problem is that while the rest of the Upper Market trades 5 days, individual Traders can choose whether or not to trade, but in permanent containers there really isn’t a choice. If SBA is open then all participants are expected to trade.

And many SBA Traders are unique - they are manufacturing Traders. SBA is an aisle focusing on small artisan type manufacturing businesses. The problem here is that manufacturing requires workshop time and Traders can’t be in two places at once. Five days trading plus a night market doesn’t leave much time for manufacturing.

Of course it is possible to staff a container and this was the issue faced in shopping centres in the past when they went to 7 days trading and were forced to roster staff. But turning over hundreds of thousands of dollars in a shopping centre gives you a lot more financial flexibility than most market traders enjoy, certainly in the Upper Market.

QVM’s push for more hours is understandable. Customer convenience is a prime driver in this retail revolution and customers are demanding more access. And of course QVM earn their income mainly from rent. They would be neglecting their corporate responsibility if they didn’t look to maximise new rental opportunities.

So we have a push for more hours which will increase the pressure on small manufacturing businesses. At least two manufacturing businesses in SBA do staff their containers already to create manufacturing flexibility although that is not necessarily feasible for all Traders.

Thursday trading is new for SBA and adjoining L Shed. Clearly it will take time to get the precinct fully populated and operating to maximum potential. Maybe the answer is to put a hold on the introduction of Tuesday trading until Traders are able to properly work out what that potential is.

By Greg Smith.

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Selling A Business Workshop



LAST CALL FOR SBMS “Q & A Session – Selling a Business” to be held 11am Wednesday 15th January 2020 in the Trader Lounge.  A light lunch will be provided.  Registration is required for catering purposes at http://bit.ly/SBMS-WS1




If you are thinking of selling in the next year….
Come along to a Q & A Session
On Wednesday 15th January 2020


Exiting from a business is inevitable; an Event with 100% certainty.  So, the decision is, will it be... "Planned" or "Unplanned"?


More than 50% of Exits are INVOLUNTARY.
More than 70% of Business Owners have NOT THOUGHT ABOUT IT = no exit strategy.

Without fully investigating the value that has been built up over all the years, you may be potentially throwing away all your blood, sweat and tears, and not-to-mention, your hard-fought time and hard-earned money, for nothing.

As a practicing Business Broker and SBMS Mentor, Denise Hall spends her time looking under the hood of 200+ business per year, all shapes and sizes, all industries to ascertain Saleability and indicative sale price range.


Is your business in good shape for sale?

This is your opportunity to ask any questions about selling your business, for example, how do I work out what my business may be worth? (Don't forget to write down your questions before the event). Denise can help you facilitate freedom from your Business no longer serving your purpose with strictly confidential SBMS mentoring.

Date: Wednesday 15th January 2020
Time: 11am - 1pm  Includes a light lunch
Venue: Board Room, Trader Lounge (266 Victoria Street)
*** Please note registration is required for catering.
RSVP  to qvm@sbms.org.au, tel Madalen on 1300 631 171 or register online http://bit.ly/SBMS-WS1


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Latest Retail News – 12/1/2020


Latest Retail News – 12/1/2020
1. QVM joins the fund raising effort for bushfire victims.
2. Harris Scarfe to close 21 stores.
3. Sydney based bag brand, From St.Xaviers, launches range in Selfridges, London.
4. Consumer confidence at 4 year low.
5. America’s giant home décor chain, Pier 1, to close 450 stores.
6. Longer opening hours allow supermarkets to boost sales.
7. UK supermarkets have their worst Christmas since 2014.
8. Reject Shop asked to explain 40% rise in share price.
9. Bardot to close 58 stores.
10. NAB says Black Friday online sales up 62%.
11. EB Games to close 19 un-profitable stores.

 Articles Worth Reading:
Out of the box ideas to try when sales are struggling - https://www.insideretail.com.au/news/out-of-the-box-ideas-to-drive-sales-when-spending-is-down-202001

 Retail store checkouts to change massively - https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardkestenbaum/2020/01/06/retail-store-checkout-will-undergo-massive-changes-soon/#90cba780de77

 Personalisation will be 2020’s most over-hyped marketing practice - https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2020/01/07/personalisation-will-be-2020-s-most-overhyped-marketing-practice

 American Dream Mall has made it at last - https://fortune.com/2020/01/06/american-dream-mall-new-jersey/

 Forever 21 turns to e-commerce after retail failures - https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/01/07/forever-21-turns-e-commerce-after-retail-failures

 Retailing is moving back to main street in 2020 -  https://www.fastcompany.com/90436206/in-2020-retail-is-moving-back-to-main-street


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QVM In The News - 12/1/2020


Enjoy the hustle and bustle of the Queen Victoria Markets, the largest ... market to head towards the South Melbourne market and enjoy dimsums or ...
Shed X at Queen Victoria Market, Queen St, Melbourne 3000. 03 9283 6100. melbournefoodandwine.com.au. 5-10pm. $35. Fri Mar 20.


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Sunday, 5 January 2020

Heard Under The Sheds - 5/1/2020



The ups and downs of trading - a Trader complained of lack lustre sales on Saturday afternoon, only to excitedly announce an hour later that he had just had his best ever single sale. And that was from a local couple.

One of our Traders is concerned that international publicity about our fires will impact on visitor numbers. Australia already scares off enough potential visitors with our sharks and spiders.

On a related matter - a customer whose credit card was declined blamed it on the bushfires.


 These campers decided to get the city experience under our sheds.


 Is this a first? This tour from a cruise ship came on bikes supplied by the ship. Apparently they only had one hour at our market before moving on.

Blue Steel is the name given to Adam Sandler’s famous pose in Zoolander and we reckon one of our Traders has nailed it. Thanks to Michael from Spotty Dot for the photo and to Tony (Blue Steel) Pierrakos for the pose.

A few Traders in SBA have traded on Tuesdays and Thursdays post Christmas with positive results. Regular Thursday trading in SBA and L Shed starts on 9th January.

A Trader quips that 2020 must be the year for visionaries.

New Years Resolutions? - none planned for one of our Traders who insists you can’t improve on perfection.

New Years Resolution 2 - this Trader wants to learn more. He says the minute you stop learning and applying new ideas, your business will suffer.

One of our Traders loves how some international customers ignore baggage concerns and just load up carry bags to take on board. “If it doesn’t get weighed it will be fine.”



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The Top Victraders Stories of 2019


Victraders readership in 2019 reached record levels and the following 9 articles were the most read for varying reasons. Just click on the link for the full story.

 This article mentioned the word "harassment" and that was probably enough to get it high on the list.

https://www.victraders.com/2019/09/harassment-at-qvm.html  


The following two articles were about the same subject (filling stall gaps) but they were 6 months apart and managed to get high readership each time.
https://www.victraders.com/2019/06/whats-next-at-qvm.html  
https://www.victraders.com/2019/01/its-time.html  


"Best of" articles often get attention and this one was also about food so it was a no-brainer. But how did one of our String Bean Alley Traders get in the story?
https://www.victraders.com/2019/04/the-9-best-food-markets-in-world-and.html  

The Committee of Trustees got some attention here.
https://www.victraders.com/2019/04/committee-of-trustees-considers-some.html  

A report of an intriguing Council meeting with a lot of QVM content and a few trader appearances.
https://www.victraders.com/2019/04/oh-what-night.html  

This article revealed some of the emotion attached to market life.
https://www.victraders.com/2019/06/more-than-market.html  



This article was about a fairly dry subject - what to call our biggest group of Traders - but it certainly attracted a lot of attention.
https://www.victraders.com/2019/02/whats-in-name.html


And you can't beat a personal story for maximising readership particularly when social media takes it up.
https://www.victraders.com/2019/03/a-vip-leaves-our-market.html  

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Latest Retail News – 5/1/2020


Latest Retail News – 5/1/2020
1. Uniqlo sales rise 25% year on year in Australia.
2. Toms Shoes hand business over to creditors.
3. Harrods to open in Shanghai.
4. Dan Murphy’s opening smaller stores.
5. Tiffany’s offered a US$112,000 advent calendar at Christmas.
6. Christmas gift card sales surged in 2019.

 Articles Worth A Read:
The Big Retail Hits In Europe For 2019: https://www.insideretail.com.au/news/european-retail-the-greatest-hits-201905

 Amazon is a Brand Disaster Waiting to Happen: https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/amazon-is-a-brand-disaster-waiting-to-happen.html

Predicting Radical Retail Change In The Next 5 Years:   https://www.afr.com/companies/retail/flintstones-make-way-for-the-jetsons-in-retail-revolution-20191217-p53ku4


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Sunday, 29 December 2019

Heard Under The Sheds - 29/12/2019



A number of Traders were happy with trade during the special Monday pre-Christmas market, saying the “buzz” was clearly evident.

“Just like the good old days” - was the comment from some Traders as the volume of international and interstate tourists rose and sales spiked following the Christmas/Boxing Day break.

Return of cash - the influx of tourists brought a rise in cash payments rather than card, with many traders running out of change. One Trader suggested it was the once-a-year travellers adopting old habits whereas seasoned travellers have pretty much converted to electronic payments.

“Let’s not get too excited” said a Trader. “We might have a bit of a sales spike, but it is coming off a very low base. There is still a lot of work to do.”

A Trader asks why we can’t have a Black Friday sale at the market. Black Friday is not exclusively online and has clearly become a key component of the global annual sales program.

Siren’s at the market. Police and Ambulance sirens are common around our city but this one from an antique fire truck caught plenty of attention up on Peel St.

Our bad (but irresistible) joke of the week – “Did you hear the Traders Lounge was supposed to be getting a gym? Sorry, it didn’t work out”.

One Trader is mystified by the number of post Christmas stall vacancies around the Upper Market. “Don’t Traders understand that post Christmas can be better than pre Christmas at QVM as tourists hit town for the holidays?”

A customer from Hong Kong said it was nice to shop in Melbourne without the fear of the protests that have seriously interrupted retail trade in his home city.

Have Your Say - click here.


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Why Was Monday Business So Good At QVM?



Monday 23rd December was a special market day and the Upper Market experienced good sales.   The timing, just before Christmas, was a key factor but there were other reasons for strong sales and maybe we need to look at those.

This was a unique market centred around D - E sheds. It was specially curated for the occasion, and maybe curation is the most important ingredient here. Traders were allocated stalls to give good balance and make the most of their displays. Without the restrictions of historical stall allocation it was easier for Precinct Managers to create a cohesive market without gaps - the mystical “buzz” that all Traders look for was evident.

The special Monday market followed on from a similarly successful Monday market on Christmas Eve in 2018.

A couple of our Traders were asked why they thought business was good. One said it was a comparatively small market so more customers per Trader means better sales.  Another suggested it was a combination of things - timing, marketing, and no stall gaps.  This Trader added that Traders seemed to put in a bit extra effort on presentation and merchandising, possibly because this was a fresh opportunity, in a new location.

Freshness, no gaps, and a little extra effort - so how do we create those conditions more often in the Upper Market?

Have Your Say - click here.

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Latest Retail News – 29/12/2019


Latest Retail News – 29/12/2019
1. NRA predicts biggest ever Boxing Day spend.
2. Caltex to revert to Ampol brand for its service stations.
3. Three customers taken to hospital after crowd crush at Westfield Christmas Eve promotion in Sydney.
4. Customers queue from 5am Boxing Day in Bourke St. mall.
5. Sustainability seen as major new force in creating consumer sales.
6. Myer’s EFTPOS system crashes on Boxing Day.

 Articles Worth A Read:
Shift away from physical gift purchases - https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/empty-stockings-for-retailers-as-australians-shift-away-from-physical-gifts-20191222-p53m88.html

 Australian Coffee is world famous - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-28/best-australian-coffee-big-overseas/11747342

 Avoiding retail staff abuse - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-26/abuse-towards-retail-staff-reduced-training-program-calm-custom/11827456


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QVM In The News - 29/12/2019


... the Queen Victoria Market, Kardinia Park, the Flemington spring racing carnival, and through the City of Melbourne, security contracts for Moomba, ...
This Victoria St pub has been a favourite watering hole for Queen Victoria Market traders and customers alike since the late 1800s. The Australian ...
December 24, 2019. The Queen Victoria market in Melbourne sees thelLast minute seafood rush before Christmas. (AAP Video/Alex Murray).
The LifeStyler was recently in Melbourne and having woken early decided to visit the Queen Victoria Market. It was just after the 6 am opening and the ...
Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes today visited Melbourne's iconic Queen Victoria Market to meet local sellers and producers amid the Christmas ...
Pickett's Deli and Rotisserie will bring the Queen Victoria Market concept to the airport by showcasing Victorian produce and serving travellers the ...
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Sunday, 22 December 2019

Heard Under The Sheds – 22/12/2019



It was a hot night at Wednesday’s Night Market. Ambulance Officers and Security Staff were busy attending to heat exhausted Traders and customers.

Hot Night 2 – a number of birds were clearly distressed in the heat and one of our Security Officers found time to fill some bollard holes with water to provide relief. Security staff really are a kind bunch.

Hot Night 3 – for many Specialty Traders sales did not really start until after 8:00pm as customers delayed their arrival at the market.

Friday’s scorching heat saw a number of Traders stay away, and many who did trade took advantage of the early finish at 1:00pm. As usual there were some good trading reports but we are not sure if that was because there were fewer competitors or because heat stroke elevates sales estimates.

Some Traders asked why all the new restrictions on Queen St. vehicle access but maybe the heightened police alert on public area safety at Christmas is the clue.


The new bollards on Queen St. certainly attracted attention with one Trader suggesting they looked a bit like toy Meccano pieces. Actually there are videos online showing these exact bollards almost destroying a truck – see link. They appear to be very effective against vehicles.

A Trader says he likes the new QVM paper bags and they appear cost effective but he would like to be able to add his business name to the printing. Can that be done?

Our market is now better mapped. Following a mention in Heard Under The Sheds a few weeks back, the guide map signs around our market have now been re-oriented to reflect directions from each map’s actual location. Customers will be pleased they no longer have to stand on their heads to read some maps. A big thank you to our marketing team for such prompt action.

Old Orientation
Re-oriented map now makes sense.

A customer was horrified when his wedding ring slipped off and fell between the verandah and the container where he was having coffee on Saturday. The ring was stranded halfway under a container with no crawling space. Fortunately many Traders carry extension poles for hoisting stock and one was used to rescue the ring. The customer was having coffee with his wife and Mother-In-Law so he was particularly grateful for the happy outcome.

Have Your Say – click here.


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Our New Car Park Takes Shape



Attendees at the QVM Committee of Trustees meeting last Tuesday were given a rare view of the “big hole” at Munro’s which gave some clarity to how this new area will work particularly in regard to car parking convenience.

The photo at the top is taken from the South side of the site, looking across to the market and shows the clear delineation of each car park level. H&I Sheds can be seen across the street.

Two things standout :
Firstly, the compactness of the site – the parking spaces will all be located within a fairly small area. 

Secondly, this new location is closer to the fresh food areas that most car park customers will be headed for.

The new location may change some customer access patterns, but in terms of convenience for food shoppers in particular, there would appear to be some pluses.

Have Your Say – click here.

By Greg Smith


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Heat Takes Its Toll On Traders at Night Market



One of our Traders ended up in hospital on Wednesday night with heat exhaustion and was surprised to find they were joining 5 other people from QVM with similar problems.

Before you start calling Night Market Traders “wimps” remember that set up on Wednesday’s usually takes place around 3:30 pm, peak heat time. The ambo who attended one of our heat exhaustion patients in SBA recorded 49C in their stall. The official temperature only reached 39C in Melbourne.

The message clearly is not to underestimate the impact of extreme heat days (over 35C) particularly if you are required to work during the hottest part of the day.

Take care out there.


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