Best Coffee? - And the winner is....

Big congratulations to Pizza at QV (F shed) for winning our online poll with over 50% of the votes. It would appear that their combination of quality coffee, price, and excellent service pays off at least in the eyes of General Merchandise Traders.

Like many successful small businesses much of the credit goes to those behind the counter, and our photo shows staff being presented with a certificate of excellence.

Runner up in the voting was Sophie’s in F shed. Thank you to all traders who voted in our poll and to each of the coffee outlets who participated. In the end the list included Romeo’s, Sophies, La Cantina, Pizza at QV, Market Expresso & Trolley Hire, Ren’s Cafe, and Market Lane Cafe. The online polling system worked very well and you can expect more from us as we seek your opinions on what is happening (or not happening) around the market. Thanks again to all participants.

New Product Idea - Electronics

It is not our normal brief to recommend new product lines but every now and then a new idea comes up that catches our attention.

These book chargers are made from real books which have been discretely modified to incorporate a phone charger. Designed by a Californian couple they sell for $48-55.

Legal Action Against Wholesaler For Price Control

The ACCC has launched legal action that will remind wholesalers it is illegal to force price restrictions on retailers.

Cosmetic Wholesaler, Eternal Beauty Products Pty. Ltd. has been accused of forcing online outlets to adhere to minimum retail prices for their products. The issue here is not the price the wholesaler sells to the retailer at, but trying to force the retailer into setting its price with consumers.

One to remember next time one of your suppliers complains about your retail price at the market.

New Words In Retailing

It seems that every new trend needs to have a new word or catchphrase and while we can have bets on which ones are likely to survive the test of time we thought we should look at some of them.

-          “Bricks & Mortar” – physical shops rather than online.

-          “Mashops” – a mash-up of bricks & mortar and interactivity.

-          “Digitail” – the convergence of digital and retail.

-          “Click ‘n’ Collect” – click online but collect in-store.

-          “So/Lo/Mo” – mobile services that connect shoppers socially and locally.

-          “One Line Strategy” – rather than online v offline, integrate the two.

-          “SEO” – search engine optimisation.

-          “Showrooming” – viewing goods in store but then going online to buy.

-          “Gamification” – the idea that you can engage shoppers better by introducing elements of healthy competition.

-          “Omnichannel” – directing your retail message through all available methods.

And finally, here is one that caught our eye – “Ramen Profitable” - A business that makes just enough money to cover basic living expenses, such as toilet paper, running water and instant ramen. Sound familiar?

New Product Idea - Luggage

It is not our normal brief to recommend new product lines but every now and then a new idea comes up that catches our attention.

This backpack scooter looks useful even if just for scooting between terminals at an international airport or perhaps moving stock between stalls at the Queen Victoria Market. Apparently just a concept at this stage so no price, but we like it.

Embracing New Trends Essential For Business Success

A survey released this week identifies 8 key customer service trends that will set the standard for the next decade in retail.

The survey comes from BDO Australia, an association of accounting professionals with worldwide affiliations and follows consultations with 479 business leaders. The key points are –

• Global competition will drive up service standards.
• Companies must maintain service standards in the face of ‘the need for speed’.
• Firms must learn to use the increased transparency brought by social media to their advantage.
• Companies must use new sources and types of data to rethink the way they track and personalise their service.
• Good employees will remain fundamental to good service but with technology as an enabler.
• More firms will outsource aspects of customer service to new kinds of specialists.
• The rise of the mass affluent and other customer segments will force companies to find new product or service niches.
• Customer expectations, including the purpose of the store, are evolving with new technology.

Of course, Queen Victoria Market traders don’t do business in a normal retail environment. Our unique location and structure creates its own challenges and some distinct advantages. Our ability to offer personal service to our customers is one of those advantages and combined with at least some aspects of new technology, should help us handle the changes ahead.

The full report from BDO is available online - http://www.bdo.com.au/resources/surveys/service2020/service-2020-megatrends-for-the-decade-ahead

Woolworths To Cut Dick Smiths

Woolworths have confirmed that it is divesting its Dick Smith’s chain with various options being touted including closing non-performing stores and selling others.

Dick Smiths have been part of the electronics “dumb-down” as retailers fight over ever decreasing margins. The appliance category has suffered from decreased customer satisfaction with a recent study showing that JB HiFi and Harvey Norman came in about average whilst Dick Smith’s was below average.

The study by broker Linwar Securities suggested that customer service was the single most important factor for differentiating specialty retailers.

New Product Idea - Fashion Leisure Clothing

It is not our normal brief to recommend new product lines but every now and then a new idea comes up that catches our attention.

Believe or not these are tracky pants but with a business style - belt loops, fly front, pockets and all made of terry cloth. They sell for $90 in the US, but for pants you can comfortably wear to work, the beach, and to bed, maybe that's not bad value. - Betabrand

Trader's Say: On Buses

Original Post: http://www.victraders.com/2012/01/tourist-buses-re-visited.html

"Yes!!YES!! YES!! That's what I'm talkin' about !! To advertise on the sides of a bus by some corporates. eg, Citywide, the car park company, dibella coffee, tattslotto, just to name a few that are involved in the and around the market. Vouchers VOLUNTEERED from two fish, two meat, two deli and any general that want to participate, which hopefully would be lots!!"

Rosalie - 29/1/2012 - 2258hrs

Yes, great idea, specially if they go down to pick up patrons at the cruise ships and, it's a bit late now but maybe for next year, the tennis.
Posted by Leah to General Merchandise Traders at 30 January 2012 18:37

Rod Laver Visits Market

Bragging rights for celebrity customers have reached new heights for trader Chiam following Rod Laver's visit to his stall today. Apart from being an absolute tennis legend, Mr. Laver obviously has good taste in men's shirts. To quote Chiam "He was a real gentleman".

Bad Start To The Day For Trader

One of our traders had parked in Peel St at the top of L shed to take some last minute top-up stock to his stall. The time was 8:22am, the streets were empty, and few stalls had commenced setup much less have customers around. That didn’t stop our intrepid parking guy from inflicting a $122.00 fine on the trader.

Seems grossly unfair but take the warning – few things are fair when it comes to MCC parking money grabs and it pays to obey the signs.

Why Are We Wasting Time With A Coffee Poll?

Why are we wasting time with a coffee poll when there are more important things for traders to worry about? A fair question from one of our traders today.
The coffee poll is a bit of fun and we like the enthusiastic involvement of traders and the coffee shops. The point of electronic polls is to make your trader's association more efficient. The last major survey we did was to ask General Merchandise Traders whether they wanted to trade on Easter Tuesday 2011. It took 3 people two full days to conduct that poll and we simply don't have the resources to do that on a regular basis.

Electronic polls allow your representatives to find out trader's views much more efficiently. Nothing is going to replace personal contact between traders, (it is one of the joys of working at this place) but there are times when we need a better way. The coffee poll is our first attempt at this process and it is working well.

To those of you who are not comfortable with modern electronic communication we apologise, but if we are to become more effective as an association we need to move with the times. If there is any aspect of this process that you have problems with, please contact us. We do have traders who request more traditional ways of participating and we are happy to accomodate them.

COMMENTS:

 

Andrew Georgiou tell the trader to chill out , the coffee poll has a deep meaning, but you have to be wise to get it.  (Facebook - 29/1/2012 at 5:39pm )

Latest Retail News – 27/01/2012

1.       Commsec card data shows improvement in December retail sales.

2.       Ikea plans worldwide expansion on the back of soaring profits.

3.       Australia’s surging dollar makes online buying even more attractive to consumers.

4.       Woolworths launches its own daily deal website – Door Buster.

5.       In the 12 months to September 2011 Australians spent $40.5 Billion on outbound travel.

6.       80% of book sellers reported improved December sales over 2010 following demise of Borders and Angus & Robertson.

7.       Booming WA continues to leave other states behind.

8.       Smartphones expected to drop significantly in price in 2012 giving more consumers access to mobile shopping.

9.       Pumpkin Patch warns Australian landlords that any rent increases are unacceptable in the current environment.

10.   Franchised Food Company (Mr. Whippy, Nutshack etc.) warns landlords about rent gouging.

11.   MacQuarie Securities declare Harvey Norman franchise fee structure unsustainable in tough times.

12.   Huge crowds (70,000) joined Adelaide’s Rundle Mall’s first opening on Australia Day.

Latest Online Fashion Craze

BeachMint is a new technology start-up which has received $millions in financing for a unique retailing idea.

BeachMint liaises with celebrities (sometimes two) who work with a well known fashion entrepreneur to create unique items which are shipped at regular intervals to subscribers. Subscribers have the choice of accepting or returning the item with free shipping both ways. Goods are priced to give significant savings off retail.

BeachMint launched its first vertical, JewelMint, in October 2010, pairing actress Kate Bosworth with her stylist Cher Coulter. Each month the duo select or create pieces of jewelry that get delivered to subscribers, who pay $30 a month for pieces that the company says would normally retail for a multiple of that price. Other Mint launches have included Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen with T-shirts, Jessica Simpson and a Beverley Hills skin expert with a skin care range, and Rachel Bilson and Nicole Chavez partnering with shoe stylist Steve Madden.

The company is reporting huge growth.

Making It Easier For Air Tourists

Tourists complain about many aspects of air travel with weight limits probably being at the top of the list but one issue is about to be resolved.
Carrying liquids onboard a plane has been restricted because of security concerns about explosives being hidden inside containers. A new laser scanner has been approved by European authorities to quickly scan any liquid at the check-in and hopefully remove current restrictions.
Anything that makes life easier for our tourists is welcome. 

De-bunking The Reasons For Retail Downturn

We’ve heard them all – GFC, floods, unfair online competition, consumer confidence, savings mentality. There are many reasons put forward for the retail downturn, but are they all crap?

An analysis published this week points out that consumer spending is actually up 5.7% while retail spending, including food, is only up 2.1%. Take out food and discretionary retail spending is only up 1%. (Ed: we need to know how much of that 5.7% was things like electricity price rises, but, hey, let’s run with this for now.)

Why has retailing lost ground? The analysis by Citigroup’s Craig Woolford blames three factors –

1.       Travel by Australian consumers is taking 2.3%.

2.       Online retail sales are taking 1.7%.

3.       Price deflation (lower prices particularly on electrical goods) is taking 1.3%.

Australians spent $40.5 billion on outbound travel in the 12 months to September 2011 leading some commentators to suggest that the real culprit for the retail downturn is Australians travelling overseas. Finding someone to blame doesn’t really help anyone. We need the solution(s) and we are still looking.

New Customer Service Gains Favour

A number of larger retailers are introducing an attractive new online customer feature that can be duplicated by  any size retailer with an online presence.

It is called “Click’n’Collect” which basically allows the customer to click an item on the retailers website and then pick it up in store. Customers who prefer the physical shopping experience can be sure their trip won’t be in vain if goods are reserved for them. The option would be available to registered users of your website so that the customer can be quickly contacted should anything go wrong.  If you have a website we suggest you talk to your web designer about incorporating the feature.

This type of service is all about improving relations with your customers.

Trader's Proposal Gains Support

Topshot, the new UK based clothing retailer with a high profile store in Chapel St. Prahran, has launched a sign-written double decker bus to take city customers to its store.

The buses itinerary is advertised frequently on Facebook and Twitter and passengers are given an electronic card with the chance of winning prizes in store. Reminscent of our trader, Alan’s, proposal  http://www.victraders.com/2012/01/tourist-buses-re-visited.html when he proposed a QVM bus along similar lines.

Poll Result - Temperature

A snap poll on this site asked traders the question - "At what temperature do you start having second thoughts about attending the market?
72% of respondents said the temperature would need to be 36C or above to have second thoughts about attending the market while 28% said a temperature between 31C and 35C would be enough.

 

Jillian Renwood says......

The temperature in K and J sheds is always approx a minimum of10degrees higher. More people die of heat Stroke than traffic accidents.  (From Facebook 27/01/2012)

Searching This Website

A number of traders have asked how they find a past article.

On the right hand column we have added a Search function which will allow you to search keywords all the way back to our first posts. Remember that market interviews are filed under the first name of the trader.

This feature should make it easier to use our site.

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