Retail : stop blaming the internet!

In the past fortnight I've read articles about the 'internet' killing high street retailers, in particular Chapel St (Sth Yarra Melbourne) and Bridge Rd (Richmond). Then greedy landlords were to blame, for asking too much in rent.

So why are retailers happy to pay even more per m2 each month and agree to 3-5yearly shop makeovers when signing leases in shopping malls? Are they mad like this retailer KB has gone mad! from the 80s & 90s or do they subscribe to the 'you've got to spend money to make money' theory?

When did Frank Lowy say he knew he'd make it in the construction of Westfield Shopping Malls? I recall him stating it was when he realised that shopping was a leisure activity, a past-time rather than a chore.

Hence the creation and ongoing upgrades to the shopping experience at my nearest 'mall': also the nearest to Chapel St & Bridge Rd; Chadstone Shopping Centre. Just like 'Crown Casino' re-branded to become 'Crown Entertainment' - it is all about the experience.

During peak periods, driving the 14kms from home to my free car space at Chadstone might take 20-25mins (including finding a park). This compared to +30mins to drive the 2.5kms to the Chapel St strip PLUS paying at least $4/hr if you're lucky enough to find a car park which isn't back out the front of your house anyway.

At Chadstone the traffic is guided to the nearest available space with illuminated displays, arrows .. I'm sure in time this will be a self-driving experience, like parallel parking in some cars right now. Not the same on the High St - bumper to bumper, waiting 3-4 light changes to clear an intersection whilst cars in front turn right and left waiting for pedestrians ... no need to explain anymore for I can feel your blood rising as it does mine. And what the hell are those raised tram stops into the middle of the road - do I drive through them or around them???

Back at Chadstone ... as we walk toward the shops we're aiming for, despite the thousands of people around us, the floors and air are clean, the light natural and the shops have made an effort to grab our attention. And if the kids are good, maybe a snack will ensue.

We won't have to encounter a homeless person sleeping across a shopfront, with empty bottles surrounding them and a fetid odor. We won't have to deal with junkie asking for a train-fare home, knowing full well it'd be heading straight up his arm in the next couple of hours. We also won't have to deal with uniformed Irish backpackers wanting to shake our hand whilst telling us what bad people we are for not palming over a credit card to save African babies; inferred that we are murderers.

No, shopping at the mall is a far better experience. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a shopper. But when push comes to shove, from an experience and safety angle - High St shopping is not enjoyable by comparison to our nearest Mall. It isn't only our family making that decision - the new families/couples/singles that have bought apartments near the High St strip shops do the same. Sure, they'll have their coffee, grocery shop and eat out for most meals in their hood; but won't shop for clothes/appliances/presents or do their kid's birthday parties there. They head away from the traffic. The grime. The stress.

People vote with their feet. Don't blame the landlords or the internet. I can speak with experience - for (6) years I toiled for no wages and +$0.5M accumulated losses running my first retail operation in an awesome, glazed, heavily trafficked prominent location in the CBD. It wasn't that my products weren't great or well priced. It wasn't that the service levels were unmatched in furniture retailing. It just wasn't meant to be. My fault.

Whilst the local Councils have commissioned ice skating rinks on car parks (because who needs carparking?) or $20K banners welcoming refugees, they've turned a blind eye to the cold hard reality of consumer choice. These factors combine to make strip shopping a poor business decision for so many non-food/booze, non 'national brand' traders, many losing their own homes for sticking it out & hoping that change is just around the corner.

I fear Councils don't have the brainpower, drive and/or resources to clean up the strips, get rid of the traffic jams .. make strip shopping attractive again. They'll find another O bike or national political issue to champion ... cause that'd be what their ratepayers want ;).

Change is indeed around the corner. It is 14kms away.

Boom. Mic drop.

@mamcinnes @pwhatch @simonjohanson @stonningtoncouncil @yarracouncil @bridgerdMelb @chapelprecinct @ebonybowden @fashion_capital @sstefanopoulos @[email protected]