COMMENTS:
27/09/2014 16:35:15 Music week "My question is - We have been lead to believe that there will be displays and music going on all week but today I was told that it's only operating for 18 hours that match the times the market is open, so for all the disruption and the fact that the Market is moving 50-60 stalls of mostly traders who have been operating for many year in the same position at a time of year that represents the start of the X-mas trading and spring racing carnival, it seems a little short sighted and unfair. I'm all for trying something new but it must be a benefit to the Market, cause at the end of the day we are a retail space not a event space."
12/10/2014 20:10:15 Commendations "Hearty congratulations to all those commended. You do the Market proud. Best wishes for a long and successful career at QVM." Jan Cochrane-Harry. CEO.
13/10/2014 17:09:55 Adversarial Approach By Traders May Have A Price "You say that the Music week has had a reasonable conclusion for traders...... I beg to differ..... A number of traders are not happy with the outcome at all. Being told you will move from your stall of 20 years......to a much smaller stall with no compensation is not a reasonable outcome all. I am affected 2 days a week, and have 4 stalls which is a lot larger than 4 x 4 meters, but l am being told that this is all l am offered. I am now told that it is preferable that my stall in the marque be open on both sides to allow customers to walk through from the H & I shed side to get to the traders on the shop side. I have also been advised that if l take this marque stall, that l must give up half of my 4 stalls the other 3 days of the week. So l loose half of my 3 non effected trading days, and have a much smaller location the other 2 days. All in all l loose out on stall room everyday of trading. This means how do l display all my products, on a much smaller location, than l currently have. It also means that l need to employ someone to help over these 2 weeks, as l can not run both locations on my own, or with just a single person on both, so 2 employees will be required....... But hey no compensation is required because this music festival will bring 30,000 people to our great market, over 10 days (thats right 3,000 per day, including days we are closed), generally after we have actually closed on most of the days, except the weekends. Yep, a great reasonable outcome for US the traders who have made this market what it is, and are the market...... tarts right we are the QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET..... MARKET not events centre..... we have several locations around Melbourne for events, why not use them, and allow us to continue to run our business, and make a living..... Unless the QVM management if we close and take the 2 weeks off, we do not have an income.....if they take the 2 weeks off, they have holiday pay, plus leave loading, so they don't notice any change to their lives...... If they want the music festival it should work with us traders not against us traders. The entrance is on Peel Street, so we don't even have the people walking through the sheds to get to the entrance.....The market is about the traders, we should not be moved for an event, the event should be worked around us, and allow us to work as normal..... But hey we are just a bunch of crappy $2 stores selling made in china rubbish, according to our lord mayor, so what do we matter."
It would appear that your 4 stalls spot has created a "perfect storm" for trader inconvenienceand perhaps your circumstances need to be looked at again. I am sure your QVMAC Trader Representative would be happy to review with management. - Ed.
(Incidentally, I know the Lord Mayor hasn't been exactly complimentary about General Merchandise in the past but this week's "crappy $2 stores" comment was made by John Faine on ABC radio, not the Lord Mayor).
18/10/2014 20:08:01 Trader Licenses for Sale "I would hope that the recent rumour that l have heard is not true..... And that is: Any trader wishing to sell their business will only be able to offer a 1 Year License to the buyer. I have heard this from a couple of traders and a market officer has also advised that he believes this is the case. I ask that our CEO and management team, if you could please either confirm this rumour as being true or not, and if it is TRUE please provide reasons, and if it is NOT then please provide details of what can be offered to prospective buyers. So let me put this out there, based on the rumour, this means that if a PE or SL (remember a PE trader must convert to an SL license prior to sale) trader wishes to sell their business that the market is only going to offer the buyer a 1 year license. This means that the market has deemed your business as worthless effectively. You will most likely be able to sell your business for STOCK AT VALUE and FIXTURES price. You will not be able to ask for any GOODWILL based on previous years trading history. In a standard business sale case, you buy a business based on the following: Stock Fixtures Goodwill - this is the most important part of any business sale. This is generally based on previous years sales, and the profit you have made. In most cases you can expect to pay around 1 - 2 years profit, depending on if the seller is asking for pre-tax profit or after tax net profit. I really do hope for all of our businesses that the rumour is not true, as this is a really unfair thing to do, and could potentially result in a lot of animosity between traders and the QVM management. I know that of l was looking to sell, or if l was lucky and some asked if l would be willing to sell my business (which has happened in the past - I know l must be lucky), i would be very disappointed to discover this rumour was true, and would defiantly be looking into my legal options, based on the fact 3 year licenses have been issued in the past." Lance