We
have this divide (some call it a chasm) between traders on one hand who, in simplistic
terms, measure $ sales, and QVM management who measure rent returns. It is not
quite as simple as that because QVM also have their own businesses (cooking
schools, tours, and training) which are similar to our own businesses. The
point is that the responsibility for marketing and attracting customers over
the whole site lies predominantly with QVM. QVM have a responsibility for our
trading environment generally. ....cont'd - click on heading for more.
So,
getting back to our heading, what do we measure? The overwhelming bulk of
business at QVM is done by traders through stall sales yet the key measure of
performance for QVM is rent returns and, in a tenuous link to traders, visitor
numbers. We are not comparing apples with apples.
Many
of our larger retail centres have direct links with each retailer’s sales data
so they do measure sales performance. The Australian Retailers Association
recently announced plans for a simple sales trend analysis by Roy Morgan
Research where retailers SMS a "better", "worse",
"unchanged" response at the end of each week. Here, in the top end of
the QVM, traders record more sophisticated data each week by asking a representative
group of traders how they performed against a set minimum sales target. The
result is a percentage figure of sales versus expected sales.
Until
we draw the link between traders $ sales and QVM performance (attracting
customers) we are not measuring anything of relevance to overall market
performance (except rental returns for the landlord).