We built this city on retail

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the 2011 Melbourne Retail Strategy Year Five report card. I highlighted that I had always thought of Melbourne as a great retailing city by dint of a good gene pool, or serendipity. It just kind of happened. I also said that I couldn’t attend the presentation of the report as I would be overseas in Asia.

Well I am now back from my trip and have just read the full report with forewords from Robert Doyle; Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Louise Asher; State MP Minister for Innovation, Services and Susan Renouf; a bright lady from a good gene pool who doesn’t have to work but chooses to invest her time in chairing this strategic retailing development joint venture between The City of Melbourne and The State of Victoria.

So what did the report say? Well, there were some great insights. It said that Melbourne’s recent placing at number one on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability index is reflected by its robust performance and continued close partnerships. The report says this is a wonderful achievement and I tend to agree, the way that Melbourne retailers and the government interact is something of story books.

The report also spoke about the recent advertising campaign for Melbourne, ‘Play Melbourne’, and what it has done for shopping and tourism in Melbourne. The campaign goes a long way to highlight what is uniquely Melbourne – a myriad of Melbourne alleyways featuring sidewalk cafés, restaurants and shops. Again, I agree wholeheartedly with this.

This uniquely Melbourne experience of wandering graffiti laden alleyways, checking out hidden stores, cafes and restaurants, is what makes Melbourne a wonderful experience overall. It is what entices people both locally and internationally to make the trip to Melbourne.

So the question is, can other cities replicate the success that Melbourne has with its overall experience in order to entice more people? Do other cities have the capacity to become shopping destinations?

In short, the answer is yes. However, it would be a hard slog. It would require a clear and agreed strategy that is built, delivered, funded and annually tracked by two layers of government (State and City), and two layers of business (big and small). This is what lies at the heart of the Melbourne Retail Strategy Year Five report card, and is also what makes the whole thing tick.

The wording and structure of the strategy and annual report card are clear evidence that government and business can work together to deliver a tangibly improved outcome for all stakeholders. It would be great to see if this could flow on to other capital cities as this collaboration has delivered a great result that is now internationally recognised.

If it can be done in a big city like Melbourne it can be done anywhere in Australia.

Watch this space.

In his role as CEO of CROSSMARK, Kevin Moore looks at the world of retailing from grocery to pharmacy, bottle shops to car dealers, corner store to department stores. In this insightful blog, Kevin covers retail news, ideas, companies and emerging opportunities in Australia, NZ, the US and Europe. His international career in sales and marketing has seen him responsible for business in over 40 countries, which has earned him grey hair and a wealth of expertise in international retailers and brands. CROSSMARK Asia Pacific is Australasia’s largest provider of retail marketing services, consulting to and servicing some of Australasia’s biggest retailers and manufacturers.