Quote:

The grim demise of the Australian shopping mall: Depressing photos show that local consumers are abandoning the old retail hotspots as we battle huge mortgages and turn to cheaper internet buys [list bull-blackball] A seemingly dreary Melbourne shopping mall has a legion of dedicated fans [list bull-blackball] Despite its spiritless looks and uninspiring choice, it has become a cult mall [list bull-blackball] 'There's two supermarkets, Coles, and its competition - another Coles', a fan said [list bull-blackball] One over-zealous fan even had 'Northcote Plaza' tattooed to his leg in dedication

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7989213/Is-future-Australian-shopping-Retail-apocalypse-summed-dreary-Melbourne-mall.html

We're in the middle of a retail revolution and I must admit, I'm torn.

I like bricks & mortar shops, and I don't want to see the staff lose their jobs.

However, I also enjoy the low prices on the internet and the fact that I can have my purchase delivered to my door (or PO box).

At least one retail shop closes down in Perth every week.

Last week, one of our biggest music retailers shut down (a place where I've spent many thousands of dollars).

https://thewest.com.au/business/retail/osborne-parks-kosmic-sound-music-store-closes-after-more-than-half-a-century-in-business-ng-b881454198z

There are empty shops (and offices) in Perth that have been for lease for several years.

Things are gonna get a lot worse too.

I just love how sad that shopping centre is  ;D

Sunshine Plaza is pretty much in a similar state. It had a Target that closed in 2007. After that, the place only had a couple of supermarkets and pretty much every other shop was an Asian clothing shop. In the early 2010s, they rebuilt the place and managed to bring in a few noteworthy stores, but they left after a couple of years. The Woolies, which had been there for decades, became a Dimmeys,  which is now obviously closed as well. Last time I was there, there was a Dimmeys, Baker, Fruit Shop, some sort of Arab cafe and an Arab grocer, everything else were pretty much an Asian Cheapie Shop.

Gotta love the Melbourne West  ;D

minarchist wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 7:42pm:

I just love how sad that shopping centre is  ;D Sunshine Plaza is pretty much in a similar state. It had a Target that closed in 2007. After that, the place only had a couple of supermarkets and pretty much every other shop was an Asian clothing shop. In the early 2010s, they rebuilt the place and managed to bring in a few noteworthy stores, but they left after a couple of years. The Woolies, which had been there for decades, became a Dimmeys,  which is now obviously closed as well. Last time I was there, there was a Dimmeys, Baker, Fruit Shop, some sort of Arab cafe and an Arab grocer, everything else were pretty much an Asian Cheapie Shop. Gotta love the Melbourne West  ;D

The rents are too expensive.
I know the owner of a food court shop who closed down because
it took all the takings from Saturday to Thursday just to pay the rent!

the only shopping centers that will survive longer term will be those that are able to swap from a traditional role of predominantly shops, to a role where they are more a meeting place ... somewhere to go for a drink or a coffee, a meal, a movie... maybe a game of ten pin bowling or snooker, a playground for the kids etc  ... with a few shops to service the impulse buyers. They will replace the traditional town squares and pubs where people once used to gather.

Bobby. wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 7:45pm:

The rents are too expensive.

i was told that a small coffee/ice cream cart in Pacific Fair (largest shopping centre in qld) was quoted $2000 a week to put his cart outside. How many icecreams or coffee's does one need to sell to pay just the rent .. it's ridiculous.

John Smith wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 7:52pm:

Bobby. wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 7:45pm: The rents are too expensive. i was told that a small coffee/ice cream cart in Pacific Fair (largest shopping centre in qld) was quoted $2000 a week to put his cart outside. How many icecreams or coffee's does one need to sell to pay just the rent .. it's ridiculous.

I hope the greedy landlords go broke.

John Smith wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 7:52pm:

Bobby. wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 7:45pm: The rents are too expensive. i was told that a small coffee/ice cream cart in Pacific Fair (largest shopping centre in qld) was quoted $2000 a week to put his cart outside. How many icecreams or coffee's does one need to sell to pay just the rent .. it's ridiculous.

There's a Kebab shop in Lismore that has to sell ~1000@week to pay his rent/utilities. He works with his Asian wife and about all they make is a living. That the renters think they can keep rents what they were in the past into the future will kill both the rentees and the renters.

edit: On consideration not sure if it was 1000 a week or a month he said, either way it goes from extortion to a little less extortion. After the last flood he was ready to give up, he hasn't but many more have. So many empty shops.

Bobby. wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 7:45pm:

minarchist wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 7:42pm: I just love how sad that shopping centre is  ;D Sunshine Plaza is pretty much in a similar state. It had a Target that closed in 2007. After that, the place only had a couple of supermarkets and pretty much every other shop was an Asian clothing shop. In the early 2010s, they rebuilt the place and managed to bring in a few noteworthy stores, but they left after a couple of years. The Woolies, which had been there for decades, became a Dimmeys,  which is now obviously closed as well. Last time I was there, there was a Dimmeys, Baker, Fruit Shop, some sort of Arab cafe and an Arab grocer, everything else were pretty much an Asian Cheapie Shop. Gotta love the Melbourne West  ;D The rents are too expensive. I know the owner of a food court shop who closed down because it took all the takings from Saturday to Thursday just to pay the rent!

I think our obsession with Real Estate is in part to blame for the demise of retail. There's been stores empty in the town I live in since I moved there in 2012. One work colleague told me how high the rent was for a cafe in the town he lives in with less than 10,000 people. He estimated  that the amount they sold in coffee was only enough to cover the monthly rent.

I think the only survivors out of the retail collapse will be your mega malls, such as Chadstone and Highpoint, and the strip shops in the older suburbs where there's about a dozen or so shops with street exposure, preferably with a smaller supermarket nearby.

Setanta wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 7:55pm:

John Smith wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 7:52pm: Bobby. wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 7:45pm: The rents are too expensive. i was told that a small coffee/ice cream cart in Pacific Fair (largest shopping centre in qld) was quoted $2000 a week to put his cart outside. How many icecreams or coffee's does one need to sell to pay just the rent .. it's ridiculous. There's a Kebab shop in Lismore that has to sell 1000@week to pay his rent/utilities. He works with his Asian wife and about all they make is a living. That the renters think they can keep rents what they were in the past into the future will kill both the rentees and the renters.

I had an applicant once who had two news agencies in one shopping center .... (Robina town center). He said trade was great, he had very good turnover. But one Friday he locked the doors and walked away from both shops. When i asked him why his response was that if he had a few good weeks, the rent went up .... if the following few weeks were crap, the rent  NEVER came down. Centre management had access to his cash register receipts so they knew exactly what his tirnover was. After a few years of this he felt he was working for free.  In the end his casual staff working 2 or 3 days were making more money than him so he walked away .. leaving all the stock and equipment behind.

I spoke to him a few months later when i saw him in another shopping center car park. This time he had one of those car wash /detailing businesses that sit outside shopping centers.  Rent was fixed because people pay for car washes with cash mostly, and there was no way the center could track how many cars he washed and for how much. He said turnover was one tenth of his old business, but he went home with a lot more money. And he was working only half the hours of the old business.

I once tried to negotiate rent for a shop space that had been empty for two years. He wanted far to much. I offered about 70% of his asking price but he wouldn't budge. Said he would rather leave it empty. It sat empty like that for another year after which he put it up for sale.

John Smith wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 8:07pm:

Setanta wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 7:55pm: John Smith wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 7:52pm: Bobby. wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 7:45pm: The rents are too expensive. i was told that a small coffee/ice cream cart in Pacific Fair (largest shopping centre in qld) was quoted $2000 a week to put his cart outside. How many icecreams or coffee's does one need to sell to pay just the rent .. it's ridiculous. There's a Kebab shop in Lismore that has to sell 1000@week to pay his rent/utilities. He works with his Asian wife and about all they make is a living. That the renters think they can keep rents what they were in the past into the future will kill both the rentees and the renters. I had an applicant once who had two news agencies in one shopping center .... (Robina town center). He said trade was great, he had very good turnover. But one Friday he locked the doors and walked away from both shops. When i asked him why his response was that if he had a few good weeks, the rent went up .... if the following few weeks were crap, the rent  NEVER came down. Centre management had access to his cash register receipts so they knew exactly what his tirnover was. After a few years of this he felt he was working for free.  In the end his casual staff working 2 or 3 days were making more money than him so he walked away .. leaving all the stock and equipment behind. I spoke to him a few months later when i saw him in another shopping center car park. This time he had one of those car wash /detailing businesses that sit outside shopping centers.  Rent was fixed because people pay for car washes with cash mostly, and there was no way the center could track how many cars he washed and for how much. He said turnover was one tenth of his old business, but he went home with a lot more money. And he was working only half the hours of the old business. I once tried to negotiate rent for a shop space that had been empty for two years. He wanted far to much. I offered about 70% of his asking price but he wouldn't budge. Said he would rather leave it empty. It sat empty like that for another year after which he put it up for sale.

How does the shopping centre track what he takes and pays? How do they justify that? There's a Chinese shop in Lismore Square that only does cash, no eftpos.

Letting the management have his receipts and then walking out leaving his stock suggests a lack of business sense.

chimera wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 8:20pm:

Letting the management have his receipts and then walking out leaving his stock suggests a lack of business sense.

Management killing the golden goose is also not good business sense. A farmer with a goose would encourage it to breed, not starve it to death.

Takeaway food shops are next to go. The food is made in a 'dark kitchen' in a suburb where the rents are cheap and the food is delivered by Indians (yuck) on scooters.

Gordon wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 8:26pm:

Takeaway food shops are next to go. The food is made in a 'dark kitchen' in a suburb where the rents are cheap and the food is delivered by Indians (yuck) on scooters.

Interesting tidbit for you. In ancient Rome, the plebs did not cook, they did not have the space or equipment to. The plebs life was a life of street food and takeaways. Only those considered relatively wealthy had home cooked meals and slaves to cook them.

They had that in Pompeii . You can see the original bread and other foods in shops with street food-counters.  The poor Roman people rented rooms high up ( more dangerous in building fails) and didn't seem to have kitchens. or bathrooms . or fresh air.

chimera wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 8:36pm:

They had that in Pompeii . You can see the original bread and other foods in shops with street food-counters.  The poor Roman people rented rooms high up ( more dangerous in building fails) and didn't seem to have kitchens. or bathrooms . or fresh air.

Not just in Pompeii, that was the lot of your plebs and tradesmen in the empire.

As a kid I collected milk from a horse-drawn milk-seller and bread delivered to the gate.  A grocer truck came to the house.

It's been on the cards for a while, the demise of the small shop owner.
My friend had a shoe shop, at one stage she was doing well, then other shoe shops opened in the area, and her sales were notably starting to diminish, then more shops opened, so she thought, to open another one, and it was a beautiful shop, with bridal stuff, shoes, etc.
And her prices were way cheaper than the price of those same brand name shoes closer to Melbourne and in Melbourne.

Sadly, she closed the 2nd shop after a year, then eventually, the original one she had, started going downhill and was costing her, with wages and overheads.
Her shop owner halved her rent to keep her there, but it just seemed too many shoe shops destroyed each other.

I recall years ago, with hairdressers, that there was a rule that a business could not open within 8 kms of each other.

A good rule, but that should apply to other shops too, instead of a glut of the same shops all concentrated in one area.
No one makes anything that way.

Is it any wonder many went downhill and shut shop.

chimera wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 8:46pm:

As a kid I collected milk from a horse-drawn milk-seller and bread delivered to the gate.  A grocer truck came to the house.

Funny that, I was just talking about it the other day, how I remember the horse drawn cart early in the morning to deliver milk to the doorstep.
We used to live in Northcote at the time.

Clip clop, clip clop, horse stops, tinkle tinkle tinkle, milk bottles getting put on doorstop.

Who would believe I lived in an era of that happening at the time!
Amazing.

chimera wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 8:46pm:

As a kid I collected milk from a horse-drawn milk-seller and bread delivered to the gate.  A grocer truck came to the house.

Many local kids worked, ironically, for our local milkman when we were kids called Ernie and his draught horse. This was in the west(Perth).
I have no idea if he was the fastest.

My grandfather was a milkman as a young man and his family owned a dairy in Strathfield.

Jezus you guys are old.

I can barely remember milk bottle deliveries.

Setanta wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 8:59pm:

My grandfather was a milkman as a young man and his family owned a dairy in Strathfield.

LOL, Strathfield is Korea now.

Gordon wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 8:59pm:

Jezus you guys are old. I can barely remember milk bottle deliveries.

Homebush road.

John Smith wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 7:52pm:

Bobby. wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 7:45pm: The rents are too expensive. i was told that a small coffee/ice cream cart in Pacific Fair (largest shopping centre in qld) was quoted $2000 a week to put his cart outside. How many icecreams or coffee's does one need to sell to pay just the rent .. it's ridiculous.

My daughter and I go to that shopping centre a lot. It's fantastic there, and always busy.
Especially that Asian grocer with all the amazing fruit and veges with such good prices.

But hellsbells, $2000 per week  :o

We went to The Glen shopping centre on Tuesday, only because we took back a recalled car (takata airbag issue) so thought would go to The Glen, and....it was practically empty!!!
I felt like I was in a scene from Omega Man.....

So we went and had Chinese in the food court.

Looked at some sparkly nice moccasins on special for $130, thinking, I bet I can find them cheaper online.

And that is how the average bargain shopper must think now.
I do like shops, but it's usually impulse buying, so I resist it now, and if I want something, I buy it online.

I do feel sorry, people, in shops, sitting or standing all day behind the counter etc waiting for sales, every day, every week.
What a miserable existence.

Then we went to Vic Roads to return the rego plate, it was packed, and I thought, well, this is where all the people are, not at the shops!

A few Asians wearing masks, no seats anywhere, many standing up, and I saw a seat next to an Asian lass, wearing a black mask, and thought, well, if no one is taking that seat, I will!!

I think, with all the rising cost of bills, such as insurance hikes, rates hikes, registration hikes, food hikes, this is why people are holding back, just to budget to pay for bills and keep their heads above water.

I heard Big W is closing down. It's a shame really. Always liked Big W.

Setanta wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 9:01pm:

Gordon wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 8:59pm: Jezus you guys are old. I can barely remember milk bottle deliveries. Homebush road.

That's how I remember it too!
I might keep this photo to show my adult kids!

Oh, what happened to the photo????

Setanta wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 8:17pm:

John Smith wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 8:07pm: Setanta wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 7:55pm: John Smith wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 7:52pm: Bobby. wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 7:45pm: The rents are too expensive. i was told that a small coffee/ice cream cart in Pacific Fair (largest shopping centre in qld) was quoted $2000 a week to put his cart outside. How many icecreams or coffee's does one need to sell to pay just the rent .. it's ridiculous. There's a Kebab shop in Lismore that has to sell 1000@week to pay his rent/utilities. He works with his Asian wife and about all they make is a living. That the renters think they can keep rents what they were in the past into the future will kill both the rentees and the renters. I had an applicant once who had two news agencies in one shopping center .... (Robina town center). He said trade was great, he had very good turnover. But one Friday he locked the doors and walked away from both shops. When i asked him why his response was that if he had a few good weeks, the rent went up .... if the following few weeks were crap, the rent  NEVER came down. Centre management had access to his cash register receipts so they knew exactly what his tirnover was. After a few years of this he felt he was working for free.  In the end his casual staff working 2 or 3 days were making more money than him so he walked away .. leaving all the stock and equipment behind. I spoke to him a few months later when i saw him in another shopping center car park. This time he had one of those car wash /detailing businesses that sit outside shopping centers.  Rent was fixed because people pay for car washes with cash mostly, and there was no way the center could track how many cars he washed and for how much. He said turnover was one tenth of his old business, but he went home with a lot more money. And he was working only half the hours of the old business. I once tried to negotiate rent for a shop space that had been empty for two years. He wanted far to much. I offered about 70% of his asking price but he wouldn't budge. Said he would rather leave it empty. It sat empty like that for another year after which he put it up for sale. How does the shopping centre track what he takes and pays? How do they justify that? There's a Chinese shop in Lismore Square that only does cash, no eftpos.

As part of his lease, he has to povide cash register receipts.  I'd previously heard of other centers that do it too.

Gordy, I have so cool old photos from old Sydney. here is my mum, the blondie at the front with her dad's Willy's car.

Damn. Too big. Lemme resize.

chimera wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 8:20pm:

Letting the management have his receipts and then walking out leaving his stock suggests a lack of business sense.

News agencies are notoriously long hours. You (or staff) have to go in at 3 or 4 in the morning to prepare your papers for delivery, and deliver them so that people have their papers at the front door when they're having their breakfast. Then you stay open until 5 or 9pm, depending on the day of the week. 7 days a week. He felt that he was working for nothing. According to what he told me months later, He was much happier after he'd left

Setanta wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 9:10pm:

Gordy, I have so cool old photos from old Sydney. here is my mum, the blondie at the front with her dad's Willy's car. Damn. Too big. Lemme resize.

What a cutie pie your mum was. I love these photos.
I have a few oldies too. Might have to dig them up now  8-)

John Smith wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 9:13pm:

chimera wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 8:20pm: Letting the management have his receipts and then walking out leaving his stock suggests a lack of business sense. News agencies are notoriously long hours. You (or staff) have to go in at 3 or 4 in the morning to prepare your papers for delivery, and deliver them so that people have their papers at the front door when they're having their breakfast. Then you stay open until 5 or 9pm, depending on the day of the week. 7 days a week. He felt that he was working for nothing. According to what he told me months later, He was much happier after he'd left

Things have obviously changed. My sisters (ex)husbands family were newsagent people and did will, even rather snobby.

Sophia wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 9:03pm:

My daughter and I go to that shopping centre a lot. It's fantastic there, and always busy.

lots of people, but a lot of window shoppers. I don't know how some of those high end shops stay open. I've gone weeks without seeing people in some of them .. and always 2 or 3 staff in immaculately pressed suits waiting to kiss your arse. :D :D

Sophia wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 9:14pm:

Setanta wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 9:10pm: Gordy, I have so cool old photos from old Sydney. here is my mum, the blondie at the front with her dad's Willy's car. Damn. Too big. Lemme resize. What a cutie pie your mum was. I love these photos. I have a few oldies too. Might have to dig them up now  8-)

I tend to remove them after the people that I want to see them have. This site is not conducive to sharing things like that.. She obviously liked that dolly.

Setanta wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 9:10pm:

Gordy, I have so cool old photos from old Sydney. here is my mum, the blondie at the front with her dad's Willy's car. Damn. Too big. Lemme resize.

So cute!

Setanta wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 9:17pm:

John Smith wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 9:13pm: chimera wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 8:20pm: Letting the management have his receipts and then walking out leaving his stock suggests a lack of business sense. News agencies are notoriously long hours. You (or staff) have to go in at 3 or 4 in the morning to prepare your papers for delivery, and deliver them so that people have their papers at the front door when they're having their breakfast. Then you stay open until 5 or 9pm, depending on the day of the week. 7 days a week. He felt that he was working for nothing. According to what he told me months later, He was much happier after he'd left Things have obviously changed. My sisters (ex)husbands family were newsagent people and did will, even rather snobby.

With the right one, you can do very well ......... just not in some shopping centers. Th guy in the story i told said turnover was great. Plenty of customers. But all the money was going in rent.
I've heard similar stories from a cousin who was a hairdresser, and another mate who had two coffee shops. One in a center, the other on a strip mall. The center had twice the turnover, for half the profit.

Gordon wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 9:18pm:

Setanta wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 9:10pm: Gordy, I have so cool old photos from old Sydney. here is my mum, the blondie at the front with her dad's Willy's car. Damn. Too big. Lemme resize. So cute!

I have cool shite as the family historian. My niece seems to be taking ovr now so that's good. Here's a pic of a female doctor, in India. Breaking the barriers since the late 19th century. My great grandmother.

Gordon wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 8:59pm:

Jezus you guys are old. I can barely remember milk bottle deliveries.

I barely remember the time before supermarket scanners.

minarchist wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 9:50pm:

Gordon wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 8:59pm: Jezus you guys are old. I can barely remember milk bottle deliveries. I barely remember the time before supermarket scanners.

;D

Hey, not picking on you. I just find that funny. I used to help my mum do the shopping as a kid and I was asked to estimate the cost. I added up things as we went. I'm guessing that is why my math is still good.

Setanta wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 9:53pm:

minarchist wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 9:50pm: Gordon wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 8:59pm: Jezus you guys are old. I can barely remember milk bottle deliveries. I barely remember the time before supermarket scanners. ;D Hey, not picking on you. I just find that funny. I used to help my mum do the shopping as a kid and I was asked to estimate the cost. I added up things as we went. I'm guessing that is why my math is still good.

I still do that now Mr. Setanta, I think we all have to, because, the mi$stake$ they make with tallying up the $hopping item$ I have found to never add up, and I say something, for it to be corrected. I do the maths in head, hopefully my brain will thank me for it in my advanced years!

The other day, at woollies, I bought seafood salad, and some salmon.
I got charged for the salmon price on both the salmon AND the seafood salad, so I have to go back and get it rectified.

I am one of these people, that checks the price docket for everything.
Many don't.

And I cannot stand being asked "Do you want the receipt?" Of course I do, I have to put it with my monthly bank statement to tick it off.
Or if something isn't right, need the receipt for a refund right, isn't that what they ask for, proof of receipt?

And besides, on the bottom of the docket with IGA or Coles, is the .4c off for fuel.
Geez  >:(

Sophia wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 10:04pm:

Setanta wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 9:53pm: minarchist wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 9:50pm: Gordon wrote on Feb 14th, 2020 at 8:59pm: Jezus you guys are old. I can barely remember milk bottle deliveries. I barely remember the time before supermarket scanners. ;D Hey, not picking on you. I just find that funny. I used to help my mum do the shopping as a kid and I was asked to estimate the cost. I added up things as we went. I'm guessing that is why my math is still good. I still do that now Mr. Setanta, I think we all have to, because, the mi$stake$ they make with tallying up the $hopping item$ I have found to never add up, and I say something, for it to be corrected. I do the maths in head, hopefully my brain will thank me for it in my advanced years! The other day, at woollies, I bought seafood salad, and some salmon. I got charged for the salmon price on both the salmon AND the seafood salad, so I have to go back and get it rectified. I am one of these people, that checks the price docket for everything. Many don't. And I cannot stand being asked "Do you want the receipt?" Of course I do, I have to put it with my monthly bank statement to tick it off. Or if something isn't right, need the receipt for a refund right, isn't that what they ask for, proof of receipt? And besides, on the bottom of the docket with IGA or Coles, is the .4c off for fuel. Geez  >:(

Don't worry I still do it.

It's been a while since I have paid any attention to Australian retail but I do see what is going on in America:  Millennials love distinctive brick & mortar shops, ones that offer a remarkable experience with unique products and tell a story.

Stores that can't do that are finished.

You were trendy with bottles. I took a 1 quart steel canister and the man turned the tap on the milk-tank.  Remember blocks of ice for the ice-chest and packets of ice-cream from a ute on Sunday.

chimera wrote on Feb 15^th, 2020 at 6:28am:

You were trendy with bottles. I took a 1 quart steel canister and the man turned the tap on the milk-tank.  Remember blocks of ice for the ice-chest and packets of ice-cream from a ute on Sunday.

bloody hell .... just how old are you? :D :D :D

This was around 1950-55 in Sydney. Then we went bush and had kerosene lamps and crank-handle phone.

It was on the news about Chapel Street tonight.
I think he said there were 80 empty shops (did he say just Prahran?)
Anyway, I since find out it’s between $100,000 to $120,000 per annum rent for a shop!
One retail corner shop sold for over $4million.
$100,000 return on that is 2.5% if it gets rented out.

I think many don’t want long leases anymore, things are too fickle.

So the stand out comment the reporter said with all the shops empty, it hadn’t been seen to be like that since the 1990s.

Remember “the recession we had to have?”

I can remember when bread was delivered unsliced and wrapped in paper, milk was delivered and came in bottles, fruit and veg came by truck, clothes and kitchen utensils could also be bought off a truck retailer.....bring back home delivery.

Ah, the joys of a 'global economy' where all workers are 'equal' and the 'playing field' is 'level' even for the most lowly paid on the planet... but only for those who work for a living.... and the few who own the global corporations prosper mightily, their shareholders get enough to make them think they are someone special, and all the while national economies grind to a halt unless governments take action.

You can impoverish some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time - but you can't impoverish all of the people all of the time...

"The economic policies of Donald Trump, which were outlined in his campaign pledges, include trade protectionism, immigration reduction, individual and corporate tax reform, the dismantling of banking regulation, and attempts to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"). A key part of President Trump's economic strategy during his first three years (2017–2019) was to boost economic growth by increasing the federal budget deficit significantly via tax cuts and additional spending. The positive economic situation he inherited from President Obama continued, with a labor market approaching full employment and measures of household income and wealth continuing to improve further into record territory. President Trump also implemented trade protectionism via tariffs, primarily on imports from China, as part of his "America First" strategy. However, the number of people without health insurance increased due to his policies, while his tax cuts were projected to worsen income inequality."

Can't say I agree with all of those moves - for my money the ones that actually work were accepting a higher federal budget deficit, trade protection in an environment where the de facto tariff of far lower wages such as in China (where the CHIMP earns around $57k a year and the average is around $7k a year and the 'Communist president earns billions through his 'shares'), restricting immigration and allowing the economy to re-stabilise without all the shenanigans, and to some extent tax reform though I doubt companies really need it.

Reducing bank regulation is a false path leading into a multitude of mine fields as we've seen here, and the 'net cost' of universal healthcare is zero, given that it is actually an economic stimulator including in providing a healthy and more motivated workforce, whereas imbalance in affordability of healthcare is not, but is instead a brake on real development and research through the personal  profit motive over-riding the push to develop and move forward.

We've all seen here that the 'private business model' does not provide the goods in many areas of life - specifically in the provision of services.

Not to mention the already-existing Chinese tariff of 15% ..... but we'll get back to that one later....

chimera wrote on Feb 14^th, 2020 at 8:20pm:

Letting the management have his receipts and then walking out leaving his stock suggests a lack of business sense.

It's in the small print.  And it's based on gross.  Or was last time I was involved in negotiations.  If you spot it and demand it be deleted, you can sometimes do a deal.  Depends on how desperate the other party is to put a tenant in.  But most leave the fine print to others and end up stuck.  The little guys end up paying for the majors