They’re not as cheap as JB for a lot of things but they do have some good stuff at decent prices.
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It looks like behind the hoarding it’s going to be quite a big store too.
Sanity closed down recently in Geelong. Years ago it had a massive store where Cotton On is now, in recent years it had a tiny store in Westfield.
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Presumably they could largely pad it out with movie based collectable stuff - like the stuff that fills up a ‘Zing’ store.
I still buy physical CDs, as they are often price competitive with a full price digital album - I like the idea of owning music rather than just streaming it and risking that a streaming service could take away a song I like - but the problem is that unless you have a very large music section, then the store probably isn’t going to stock what I’m looking for. JB HiFi do that fairly well - usually at least having something from the band I was looking for, if not the actual thing.
Same goes for movies/TV - I like having physical copies - but a store can’t really exist selling only slightly more than the DVD section of Kmart/Target does.
So yeah - that makes me think a large format is just about all that makes sense - selling enough stuff to increase the odds that someone will find the thing they want in store.
Do they still have a Warun Ponds store? I don’t ever remember seeing the one in Westfield.
I think it’s been about a year since I went in a Sanity - but about a decade since I actually bought something from them.
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The Sanity one was upstairs around the corner from the Food Court.
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I trekked out to Richmond Sanity recently to buy a DVD that was not available at JB online and in store (or on streaming services). I rang around a few Sanity stores in Sydney and on the Central Coast before finally finding it instock at Richmond. The train trip seemed to take forever, and the shopping centre was like one from a country town.
Anyway I’m glad there are still some Sanity stores around, but I am surprised new ones are opening or being refurbished.
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I remember back in the day (my early teens which was early 2000s) a CD single from Sanity would cost around $10 but from Target I could get them for half the price. Although they did have a lot of stuff that the department stores didn’t have which is usually the only time I would buy from them. I used to love the HMV in Burke street. I could spend a good hour there just roaming through CDs, listening to music on the headphones etc.
I am also surprised that Sanity still exist however if they are smart they can probably tap into a some different markets and expand a little from the original CD store that they were. They should take an all round approach to music/tv/movies and have kiosks etc where you can purchase and download music/videos to your device, have a large vinyl collection (because they seems to have made a bit of a comeback), sell things like headphones and speakers, have merchandise related to TV shows, movies and music. They could even tap into things like some international music magazines which you can’t find many places in aus etc. I’m sure there’s other things they can do too (I’m thinking some of the stuff they have at store DJ in Richmond but not sure if that is too niche). If they are just that CD store I don’t know how they are still surviving but if they become an all round hub for music and entertainment I can see some potential.
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Kmart’s auto section is a ghost of what it used to be, and that’s why it makes sense for Wesfarmers to divest.
Whereas Kmart used to actually have a fairly decent automotive section, almost like Super Cheap Auto in terms of range (car antennas, all sorts of gadgets), it’s now been ground down to almost nothing in the Aldi-fication and cutting of almost every branded range to be replaced with a generic brand like Audiosonic or Performer.
Two very important car-related items that I’ve noticed that have disappeared from the shelves are the windscreen wipers and car batteries. I had to go to Big W to get a tyre repair kit the other day for a very reasonable $8.
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The likes of super cheap (who are neither super nor cheap most of the time) and the endless expansion of the various home departments in Kmart sealed the fate for the automotive section in their stores.
To be honest I think most people who have forgotten the old kmart wouldn’t think to go to Kmart or Big W for automotive supplies anymore, they’d be going to Super Cheap or Repco.
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7-Eleven yesterday bought a 51% share in alcohol retail outfit Tipple, but it doesn’t necessarily mean beer and wines will be sold at 7-Eleven convenience stores.
I suppose the Tipple employees may now experience wage theft.
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A rather common sight at the 7-Elevens in Asia, though I highly doubt that will happen here anytime soon.
There’s two local Sanity stores that have been around for at least 15-20 years and are still operating in the same location (one of which in the exact same position inside). Mornington Central (Centro) and Rosebud Plaza. So must do an okay trade.
But DVD/CDs usually always more pricey and inventory 50%+ less.
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There used to be a Sanity in Frankston, but that sadly shut down.
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Yeah, it’s a liquor licensing thing more than a retailers’ decision. They’d have to convince the state governments to permit such a thing.
In NSW, Aldi is the only supermarket which has a liquor outlet actually contained within the supermarket area, albeit in a separate area directly next to the checkouts. All Woolies and Coles might have a Liquorland or BWS attached, but you almost always have to exit the supermarket in order to enter the liquor outlet.
There are cases where the supermarket and attached liquor store has obviously been designed with free flow between the liquor store and the supermarket without having to go through checkouts, but for some reason these all disappeared about 10-15 years ago. I remember at the Eastgardens Woolies that the Woolworths Liquor was accessible from the supermarket at the time it opened in 2003, but a few years later it was closed off.
What’s it like in other states and territories? From what I recall ACT is probably the most permissive, with liquor being allowed on the shelves like any other product.
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Here in Victoria, Woolworths and Coles have separate entrances to their liquor outlets. Aldi is the only supermarket allowed to have liquor on the shelves close to the checkout. IGA usually has liquor in a separate area but you will have to pay for it at the supermarket checkout.
Remember it well. Was there for at least 15 years, only been gone a year or so. Situated in a prized position, on the corner of the arcade/alley, down the escalator from Toys R Us (coincidence!)/Rebel at that entrance to Bayside.
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I walked past TRU Frankston last week, it’s completely empty.
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Woolies and Coles have attached BWS/Liquorland. Independents (IGA, Supabarn, Spar) have liquor within the same store. Both Woolies and Coles had previously had liquor aisles within the stores.
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