14/02/2013 12:31:51 Stringbean Alley no longer LocallyMade & Designed "It seems that the market management have not held their nerve when it came to Locally Made , Locally Designed in Stringbean Alley.
Last week a QVM trader who makes & prints their t-shirts in Asia has taken up residence in Stringbean Alley....and other traders who also make in Asia, who also applied and were rejected because they did not fit the criteria are not happy. To quote the QVM Stringbean Alley flyer ...."" locally designed , locally made, artisans wares...."" was the why all the original residents of Stringbean Alley decided to get on board with a new precinct at QVM.
But now it seems that because 3 of the 9 initial residents of SBA have left ,management have gone for the easy option of getting current QVM traders to occupy the containers on SBA.
So whats the difference between SBA and the general market ????
NOTHING.
QVM had an opportunity as the leading market destination in Melbourne/ Victoria to showcase locally artisans making and designing on site, management said many artisans had applied to be in the SBA??
So where are they ??
Opportunity Lost "
Editor: If QVM Management have not made professional endeavours to attract suitable artisans to String Bean Alley then that is unacceptable. However, if suitable artisans are too scared to become involved in a new retail endeavour in the current climate (and who could blame them) then tweaking the product mix is a good move. The trader in question may not meet the strict guidelines originally laid down for String Bean Alley but they have shown themselves to be professional traders and are arguably the pick of their genre in the market.
We posted an article on this website last week about innovation sometimes being adhoc (http://www.victraders.com/2013/02/why-business-innovation-can-be-adhoc.html) and String Bean Alley was identified as a potential candidate for experimenting and adjusting to meet the reality of modern retailing. That article pointed out that willingness to change direction can be an essential part of ultimate success.
Your thoughts?
15/02/2013 18:59:42 "There was an opportunity to have a new distinct artisans alley @ QVM but as I said the management lost its nerve.
There are other artisan markets in Melbourne ( Rose Street and occasional popup markets ) .
An artisan market would have been another string in the bow of QVM , just like the food section, fruit & veg, general market etc.
There is plenty of room for traders who want to import goods from Asia, but before SBA there were no artisans.
What I said stands.......Opportunity Lost." Thanks for your input - Ed.
16/02/2013 10:23:40 "I do agree with most of what was written, but the market has always had artisans under the shed, but good points made"
17/02/2013 18:20:06 SBA "So whats stopping the management going back through their books and looking up the original people that were interested in becoming traders in SBA? Approach these potential traders or artisans of their trade to come and sell their australian made product!"
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