EVIL FINE PRINT

Zamel's Jewellers, East Gardens.  This type of fine print gives retailers everywhere a bad name.  I wouldn't be surprised if it attracts the regulator's attention.  for the record, or those with poor eyesight it says the offer excludes catalogue items and watches.

Gifts that Come Alive

Australian Geographic, Bondi Junction.  I was quite impressed with the idea behind this execution - it shows imagination, a key value for this brand, and one which should appeal to their customers.

Retail at the Death

Pitt St, CBD.  A few of the Pitt St discounters and markets are closing down.  This one was in it's final death throes - everything in store was $1 - interesting to watch the feeding frenzy.

'Tis the season for ... a sale

Woosh, QVB.  This store, like many others - at least 50% in this very busy CBD mall - is on 'sale' - whether 'pre-Xmas, mid-season or whatever'.  It is shaping up like a difficult Christmas season (profit-wise) for many retailers.

Redundant Pre-Xmas Sale

Zarussi jewellery kiosk, East Gardens.  There is something redundant in this name.  I guess we will be seeing a lot more of this before Christmas.

Is Charity for Sale ?

Oxfam, Broadway.  Oxfam have been running a sale with 'over 1500 lines to clear'.  Now for the typical size of their store, 1500 lines is a lot. For a 'for-profit' retailer this is just the pain you take for having  mis-read demand - either in terms of volumes, or preferences.  It is a truism of retail that you need to move slow-moving stock (SLOBS - slow obsolescent lines)  to free up cashflow to replace it with stuff that shoppers DO want.  

However, this raises some interesting questions about how a Not For Profit (NFP) entity operates in the retail space.  Let me say that I have no idea how Oxfam have structured their retail operation, and that I applaud the way in which they been able to distribute product from suppliers who would normally not have had access to the retail channel.

Ok, so caveats aside, here are some of the questions:

1. Is the retail entity expected to do more than simply break-even ? Who pays the cost of capital ?

2. Who carries the pain for markdowns ?  presumably suppliers have been paid a fixed price ?

3. Does the scale of these markdowns suggest a broader problem with this type of business model ? In other words are shoppers only prepared to do so much 'ethical' purchasing ?

4. How aggressive should they be with the markdowns before it impacts on the perceived quality of their offering ? Do they then negotiate tougher trading terms with their suppliers (as most retailers would) ?

5. As a donor to Oxfam, would you be comfortable with the idea that your dollars might (I say this advisedly) be cross-subsidising their retail activity ? I would guess most donors would not. So, if not, what is the situation ?

6. As a donor to Oxfam, would you buy some of the 'distressed' merchandise ? Or would that make you feel slightly guilty ?

7. As a shopper, you can probably find similar 'ethnic' merchandise in other stores ? Does this influence your perception of price and value ?

I would be most interested to hear some perspectives, including from Oxfam.

Another Tacky Jewellery Sale

Zamels Jewellers, Broadway.  Not the best-looking jewellery sale I've seen.  

Harvey Norman's Demolition of Service (continues)

Harvey Norman, Broadway - it is clear this is now part of a 3-day national campaign. My reservations about this approach have been expressed in the post below. Here are some more pics showing how the wrong signals are being sent to shoppers (in my humble opinion).

DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY

Lorna Jane, womenswear, East Gardens. An unusually upbeat 'sale' sign - great for these times. And the staff member was smiling as well :) Even better .....

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO ?

EB Games Moore Park. Not the most welcoming entrance. Also,this
category in a lot of pain.

BLING BLING BOING

Hardy Bros Jewellery, Chatswood Chase, Something doesn't quite work with how this upmarket jeweller is advertising its sale. I like the effect of the changing colour windows, though, they get attention in busy mall and foot traffic environments.

RED SALES IN THE SUNSET

KikkiK, East Gardens with a humorous take on their sale (sail).  Quirky but effective.

RED INK FLOWING ?

EB Games, East Gardens, STILL in sale mode - while the numbers can't be pretty the store looks pretty claustrophobic.

UGLY DUCKLING

Adairs, homewares and soft furnishings, East Gardens.  Not the best look, and not up to their usual high standards of visual merchandising. 

STALE SALE PUTS CUSTOMERS TO SLEEP

Adairs, Broadway, Same sale has been on for the last 6 weeks or so.

TARGET GETS CLEVER

Target, Broadway, Toy Sale starts 24 Jul. Tear-off sheets with opportunities to pre-order specified toy packages obviously gets the sale asap, rewards the most dedicated customers, and manages inventory, avoiding stock-outs.

PANTS OFF AT GENERAL

General Pants, Pitt St, video of eyecatching plasmas.

UNFOCUSED OPTICS

1001 optics store, East Gardens. The use of yellow for sale posters looks tacky in this usually classy store.

RED INK

EB Games, TGV Sydney. Looks disastrous.

OUCH!

Events store, Westfield, Pitt St. Real pain here.