When
three traders went to meeting with the Lord Mayor of Melbourne back in 2012
they didn't know quite what to expect. They went with concerns about the
decline of the market and, in particular, the lack of investment. The market was being run with little concern
for the future and a mindset that placed yearly returns to Council ahead of
real market improvement.
To
hear the Lord Mayor had similar concerns was a very pleasant
surprise and subsequent developments, including a renewal spend of up to $250m
was way beyond original expectations. And QVM renewal is not just some empty statement
of intent. After a long process we now have a QVM Renewal Master Plan, a
Project Team, and most of the formalities of State Government approval and City
Council commitment in place.
On
the surface of it, this is an impressive achievement. Not quite fairy tale
level, but impressive nonetheless. But, as often happens, there is devil in the
detail and the process of renewal has the potential to bring significant
hardship to small businesses at QVM over the next few years.
One
of the biggest problems for any business, large and small is uncertainty. At
QVM we will be faced with large doses of business uncertainty. How will we
trade in new locations? How will customers react? Can we turn renewal and
construction into excitement for customers? Can we use this period to
experiment with new ways of engaging, new trading hours, and new merchandising
methods? Will changes work?
There
is no doubt that re-investment has the potential to put a great market on the
right track for the next 150 years. Along the way, traders are going to need a
great deal of consideration. They will need support and probably compensation.
The City of Melbourne, and QVM will need to place trader health high on their
priorities. But even more important than those two will be customers. Customer
commitment, particularly during this transition, will be crucial to the health
of traders. Perhaps our message to customers could be - "Come join the
grand adventure with us".
