Needle Tracks

Tattoo shop, Elizabeth St, Surry Hills.  With the prevalence of tattoos these days, it is a wonder that tattoo shops are not more mainstream, although one could argue the element of mystery and rebellion is part of their appeal.  Either way, they could be promoting their business a lot better.  I thought these two graphics are more than eye-catching, imagine what they would look like (especially at night) if they were backlit ?

Fresh Competition Hots Up

Danks St markets, Waterloo.  As mentioned in the previous post, our local area has seen the opening of a farmers-style market this past weekend.  Saturday was pretty quiet, but Sunday was very busy, drawing as it did on the 'ready-made' market from the large and very busy Hillsong church across the road (see pic), which has multiple services on a Sunday. The range of produce was reasonable, but disappointing for not having the promised wine.  The interior is very basic, and some operators were pleasant and outgoing, encouraging you to taste the food.  Another positive is the parking, which is a rarity in the area.

On the downside, the warehouse structure has very poor ventilation, and will suffer on the warm summer days.  The range is currently somewhat limited, and quality looked ok, but not as consistent as the more upmarket Fratelli Fresh around the corner. Some operators seemed more like producers than retailers - more smiles and service required, I think :))

Apart  from this market, which will be open Saturdays and Sundays, the area also has the aforementioned, and long-established Fratelli Fresh, a Macro Whole Foods organic store, and the brand new Coles supermarket (see below), in addition to the nearby competition in Surry Hills, including a wide variety of fresh food stores in the village shopping centre.  The competition is hotting up.

Mac The Knife

Surry Hills, Friday afternoon.  I was impressed with this guy's service - generator and blade-sharpener on the back of his motorcycle, services food establishments.  I thought many retailers could learn from this principle in dealing with time-poor customers: get closer to customers, be timely, solve their problems, make it easy to deal with you, minimize overheads.

Acid Jazz causes Indigestion

Titles, Surry Hills.  This is one of my favourite stores - but they seem to have forgotten that they sell content (music, movies, some books).  After all, it's in their name ?  Trying to leverage cool groups leads to a loss of focus and leads to markdowns. Acid jazz I believe, can cause indigestion.

A Paper Christmas

Paper2, Crown St, Surry Hills.  This is one of my favourite shops - and I recommend you take a look.  However, I was interested to see this window. The battered old suitcase looked like a refugee from the London blitz, and the whole appearance was 'shabby chic'.  Then when I thought about it, that is where the market is at right now - the new age of frugality.  It was shabbily comfortable, like an old pair of slippers.

The Lighter Side of Retail

Hair salon, Crown St, Surry Hills. I'm unsure what the deal was - perhaps get a haircut, get a spaniel free ?

Redheads on the Corner in Surry Hills

Coles, Surry Hills.  My local supermarket has been steadily lifting its game with regard to merchandising.  I was impressed to see a product as potentially boring as firelighters given this treatment.  The angled presentation makes it stand out from the crowd and catches your eye as you turn the corner.  And I've always liked redheads :)

For those with headaches and hangovers

Coles, Surry Hills.  Impressive merchandising of Berocca - obviously a market for it in Surry Hills.

Marilyn Monroe's Mitts

Coles, Surry Hills.  For those who want to get their mitts on Marilyn Monroe, or alternately want to handle their white powder carefully :)

iSnack2.0 is marked down

Coles, Surry Hill.  The new 'controversial' much-maligned iSnack2.0 from Kraft has already been marked down. 

What Price Perfection ?

Thomas Dux, grocer, Crown St, Surry Hills. Today we paid our first visit to this upmarket grocery store chain, owned by Woolworths. The merchandising was of a very high standard and well up to expectations. The pleasant surprise was that some of our favourite gourmet items were a couple of dollars cheaper. A major inconvenience that they do not have parking, BUT they are right next door to The Winery, a new and very popular wine bar just opened. So... grocery shopping followed by some wine and nibbles... hmm.

Okay, they weren't perfect - the top pic shows the apple wrapper lying on the pristine floor. This should appeal to the pedantic amongst us :) Maybe the store is untouched or unsullied by customers' hands and feet.... there weren't many around.

However, if you are in the neighbourhood, it's well worth a visit. It will be interesting to see who survives out of the now over-shopped Crown St grocery market (3 upmarket stores and counting).... I am betting this one will - in due course.

Your Daily Dose

Maloney's Crown St, Surry Hills. Exceptionally good display - makes them look very tempting. Great use of colours, and textures while retaining logical adjacencies.

Coles' Fresh Approach to Spring

Coles, Surry Hills.  A fresh approach their seasonal marketing - new management starting to ring in the changes.  However, POS poster changes only get you so far.  It will be interesting to see what they do, if anything, to change the in-store experience.

Marketers who need help

Blockbuster, Surry Hills. These marketers clearly need help with understanding what is appropriate/not.

A Passion for Paper

Paper2, Crown St, Surry Hills. One of our favourite shops - we never fail to buy something here. They clearly have a passion for the product. Well worth a visit if you enjoy the sensory experience of high quality paper and writing materials.

COLES GOES 3 FOR 2

Coles, Surry Hills. The new merchandising and in-store marketing approach being adopted by Coles has a focus on 'savings'. It includes a quite effective 3 for 2 offer, and good use of a scissors price cut device throughout the store. This has no doubt mostly been financed by suppliers. Also of note is the more effective merchandising of the rear corners of gondolas to break straight lines and capture attention. There is a good use of reminder signage throughout the store. The colours are true to the Coles brand and signify value. This is a good illustration of how the in-store experience can be significantly lifted without spending capex. Long overdue, it suggests a change of management thinking, upping the competition stakes. It will be interesting to see if it can be sustained.

BRING IN THE MARINES

Surry Hills. Obviously inspired by the Marines at Iwo Jima - the new frontline for work-life balance.

EQUAL ACCESSORISES WITH BLUETOOTH

Surry Hills, Crown St. Equal uses bluetooth technology to download a voucher to customer's phone. Similar one noted recently in Oxford St. Copy of voucher attached.

http://www.peeptoeshoes.com.au/home

COVERING ALL BASES

Surry Hills, spiritual healing shop - seems to cover all bases.

TITLE BY NAME AND CONTENT

One of my favourite specialty shops is Title in Crown St, Surry Hills.  They provide an interesting arthouse blend of mainly music and movie content in a low-key environment.  The owners are importers and distributors into Australia of some specialised product which means the range on offer is always top-notch, although prices are usually premium.  Have a look at the review video - this shop is not for everyone, as the overwhelming range and the often low service levels mean that you have to know what you want, and be prepared to look for it.  The exploration can be hugely rewarding, and is a pleasant contrast with the commoditised way content is sold in 'mainstream' music stores.