Filling Empty Stalls At QVM

There are few things more depressing for traders and probably customers than to see large areas of unoccupied market stalls. It sends a bad message and maybe it is time for all at QVM to find a solution.

Empty shops and stalls are a fact of life globally as retail venues shrink in size and number. The point is that we need to be flexible enough to present a cohesive retail offer without gaps or at least manage those gaps for minimum impact.

In retail shopping centres it has been traditional to cover up short term vacancies with hoardings – “Exciting new offer coming here.” At QVM we use black cloths and other fittings to curate areas and perhaps that type of flexible walling could be used more regularly.

The difficulty at QVM is the unpredictable nature of absences. Traders can give less than 12 hours notice of their intention to stay away from the market and that doesn’t give much time for corrective action. Even pre-advised absences may impact on different stalls in different places on different days. That is not impossible to plan for but it does need a process.

In the good old days, empty stalls were quickly filled by the scores of casuals seeking a spot. We don’t have that resource anymore (it was a desperately cut-throat system) and as much as some still say “just get more traders”, clearly that is easier said than done. 

There are still casual allocations going on at QVM and maybe we just need to be better at where we put them to achieve the no-gap look. For instance a gap in an aisle needs filling while a vacant corner just creates more pedestrian space and a different stall becomes the corner.

One trader has suggested a more community minded involvement with neighbours filling spaces during absences. That would need to be done in a professional manner and maybe with some equation for stall rental. Perhaps also community fittings could be made available to make larger displays more viable when spreading.

Another option is that we have a selection of fittings like playground equipment, seating or special displays that can be quickly positioned in vacant areas. Large screens showing the history of the Queen Victoria Market, or the latest trader offers, could be strategically placed within the market and create interest and energy. We have some traders producing excellent videos.

There are lots of options here, and many creative minds in the QVM family. What comes next?

Have Your Say – click here.
COMMENTS:

26/02/2018 07:42:39      Empty Stalls "The easy way is to Blame Everything and Everywhere out of the Market for Empty Stalls. Where is QVM Bureaucratic Approach of Administration Responsibility?

My experiment with a stall in C Shed finished in the debacle and financial ruin. DrizaBone, Akubra, Mick's Whips are Australian Icons which I try to bring to the Market within one stall: C105 under the name JLP OUTBACK. I did try very hard to modernize stand and improve the Shopping experience for our customers. From QVM Bureaucratic I have only negative stance reflected in one sentence: WHO YOU THINK YOU ARE, WE CAN'T BEND THE RULES JUST FOR YOU! Every new Initiative is classified as ""bending the rules.""

My experience in the Market told me, Main Rule on the Market is:

There are NO RULES. All depends if you are on the ""QVM's ShitList"" or not. (I had been told about this List last week)

The main job of QVM Administration is to tell you ""What you can't do,"" which is opposite   ""Let Us Help You How You Can Do It.""

The empty stall is a direct result of Incompetence of QVM Bureaucrats, which lost Connection with real life. As there is no strategy, every new employee comes and go, most of them without a trace.  Some of them left chaos! Very rare left something valuable.

Without strategic approach, The filling gap with New Stallholders is mostly duplication and finish with the disqualification of existing good stalls as a result. Usually, if someone valuable wants to leave Good Company, they ask him a simple question: IS THERE ANYTHING that WE CAN DO TO KEEP YOU IN?

As a result of neglect, we are witnessing the collapse of  Strong Company with Power to the Charity, left on the mercy of  Yearly Budget of City's Hall.

To the StallHolders:

Don't give up, with our New Focus on Customers Experience Approach we can do it. Retail is much older than our current struggle.

To the QVM Administration:

Every one of you should have one thing in mind: 

There is everything about Customers, and not about your Weekly Cheque and your EGO. Help us to Serve Them Better.

To the  Board of Directors and New CEO:

WALK! Come to the Ground Zero once in the month and Talk to Us. Don't let us to Communicate via email about everything;

You can't smell Temporarily Toilet or see inside an overflooded bin with used and unused paper (for some reasons tray can't hold it), on the top of M Shed.

You can't smell Tank of Rotten milk almost every Sunday afternoon opposite the same toilet. You can't hear comments from our Customers with clothes over the face passing through this area.

To understand us - smell it with us!” Mino

Thanks for your input Mino - Ed.

05/03/2018 17:35:36      Empty Stalls "If only half of what you are suggesting is accurate then we are in a worse shape than a Renewal can fix .

If you are about 90% correct ( never heard of the shit list )which I can believe then the mindset and failing philosophies of Management need to change yesterday.

I hate hearing stories of traders having a real crack but failing because Management can't recognize someone else's vision."
Thanks for your comments - Ed.