There
is considerable debate over just how much ready to eat food should be available
at a market like QVM. How do we get the mix right so that our market meets
modern consumer expectations whilst
ensuring that the category is not over supplied and therefore jeopardising the
profitability of current food operators? One thing seems clear -
"food is the new shopping."
There
is little doubt that food is critical to retail success. With the growth of
online shopping, an essential point of difference for bricks'n'mortar
destinations is food. And if you get the food attraction right, not only do you
get more customers, but they stay longer and spend more. That is great for
every retailer. Recent studies show that customers who eat during a shopping
centre trip spend on average 27 minutes longer across the shopping centre and
spend 18% more in overall
transactions.(marketing data from Coniq).
The
space devoted to ready to eat food has grown significantly. According to
international retail services company JLL, floor space devoted to food and beverage has doubled in the last
ten years from 7% to 15%, and is expected to rise to 20% in the next ten years.
Consumers are obviously demanding greater choice in ready to eat food. Shopping
centres that used to rely on a single food court to meet their customers needs
now have multiple food options throughout their centres. We are not a shopping
centre but we do serve very similar clientele and the food options of old
simply don't meet modern expectations. Gaining the double whammy of more
customers who stay longer is a very desirable target.
Obviously
you don't want to over populate the category and this is the point of concerns
expressed in a Herald Sun article this week. In an article about the CoM's new
food truck policy, Trader Representative Jenny Pyke was quoted as saying
"It’s definitely unfair that they’re (food trucks) being put in at a lower
rent rate than those already at the market”. Council plans involve placing food trucks around the city including on Peel St. adjacent to the market. The point was made in the article
that the introduction of more food outlets could jeopardise the livelihoods of
current food traders. Cr. Robert Doyle was quoted in a discussion on 3AW
"We think these spots will work, in talking to the various traders, but
obviously, depending on the footfall, that’s what makes it, or breaks it, and
we want to put them where there are people going past".
Getting
the ready to eat food mix right at QVM is critical to our development. This is
not just about protecting current food traders or whacking in lots of new food.
If we get this right, we will all benefit because more customers will come to
our market. Once again we are testing the entrepreneurial appetite for traders
to adapt to retail change and testing Malcolm McCullough's team's ability to get it right. It would be unfortunate if the CoM were acting independently and harming the process.