There would be very few traders in our market whose weekly sales
approach a straight line graph so the previous week’s
trade may not be very relevant. There are many factors that impact on our sales
at QVM. There are general matters like consumer confidence and the impact of
things like State Elections. There are more specific events like sporting
matches, stage shows, or cruise ships arriving in town. All these variables
(sometimes happening at the same time) make it difficult to make sense of sales
variations but there are some guidelines we can use. Last year’s
sales for the same period can be a useful guide. Recent sales trends can also
be relevant but they need to be looked at over a period of 4-8 weeks.
Some traders say they have experienced normal sales (whatever
that is) over the period of the music event. There appears little doubt that
many traders, particularly those in the upper part of J,K, and L sheds have
experienced difficult trading caused by the event and the re-direction of
customer flows. Much analysis will be conducted over coming days to determine
the impact. A QVMAC Representatives meeting is to be held on Tuesday 25th
November before a meeting with management on 4th December.
But before we can quantify the impact it would be useful if
traders could do their homework and check last year’s
sales and recent sales trends. If you believe you have relevant input please
email generalmerchandisetraders@iinet.net.au
or talk to your Trader Representative.