Supermarkets and Retail

I made a brief visit to Westfield Belconnen (where the Myer store is located) late last year during my stay in Canberra for the Delta Goodrem concert. The complex was stuck in the 80s and reminded me a lot of Knox City. Maybe Myer’s closure will be a catalyst for Scentre Group to redevelop the centre.

Hornsby is probably the MYER store I visit the most. Hopefully H&M go in one floor or I will probably go shop at other centres.

Does anyone know what will replace GAP at Macquarie Centre?

It’s a terrible store, on par with Blacktown. It has a very down-market feel.

ill have you know it’s stuck in the 70s!

They extended the centre about seven years ago and redid the flooring throughout the older section, so it’s actually better than it was. I believe the centre was actually owned by the Commonwealth Government before it was sold to Westfield.

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Speaking of Blacktown, I am surprised they are not closing at least one floor of that Myer store, as no one is ever on the top floor.

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Yes, sold by the Hawke government in 1986.

Myer and BIGW are essentially at major risk of collapse in about 5 years after nil results from these transformations.

Target has reversed its trend will be interesting to see its results at the half. If they have lost ground again then I give up but it’s all over for BIGW should target punch back into the black.

The Flemings Supermarket at Bexley North has been rebranded to Woolworths Metro.

I believe that leaves the Jannali store as the last remaining Fleming’s.

Not sure about Food for Less - I think there’s still one at the Roselands Shopping Centre.

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But the toilets are in decent nick!

From possible the weirdest YouTube channel there ever was!

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I thought my predilection for seeking out the cleanest, most isolated places to do my business was odd. I’ll walk up five flights of stairs to find a somewhere clean and well maintained rather than use a public toilet in a train station or heavy foot traffic area in a shopping centre because I know they’re likely to be disgusting. No, I’m not willing to reveal my list of premium public convenience facilities around Sydney town.

Sorry if you’ve just had breakfast.

Westfield says Myer Belconnen will not close until July 2019 when its lease runs out, and new stores will be introduced by 2020. Also, Myer dropped its planned store in Woden in 2014 and might not be revived.

The US and Canadian operations of Toys ‘R’ Us have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy but the Australian stores are not affected.

British department store Debenhams will open its first Australian store at Melbourne’s St Collins Lane complex in mid October.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/debenhams-set-to-open-first-australian-store-in-melbourne-cbd/news-story/f69991f69ac7cf0d31b0b3023ae49f47

I went to Woolworths Marrickville recently, and I noticed that they have their bread rolls packaged in this new type of bag which is mostly paper, but has a plastic window with perforated holes in it (as opposed to the conventional plastic twist-tie bags they have like this):

The bread is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better out of this new packaging. Especially the cheese and bacon rolls. The crust on the rolls now has a very light crispy feeling to it, which is probably because moisture is allowed to escape the bag.

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On a Sydney bus yesterday I noticed the advertisements for Krispy Kreme and their “Reece’s Peanut Butter Donuts”.

The word “Reese’s” dominates the ad.

This brand is virtually unheard of in Australia. I think Krispy Kreme do not quite understand the Aussie market.

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I think many people will recognise it as an all-American brand, much like Ben and Jerry’s is.

People, especially young people, will have heard the references to these products while consuming media overseas. The brand is not mainstream in Australia, so they’ll buy the product even though they tend to be ridiculously expensive because they are directly imported from the United States.

Ben and Jerry’s for example - why would someone pay $11 for a 400mL tub of ice cream?

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I’m not sure about the tubs, but their cookies dough milkshakes are to die for :ok_hand::sweat_drops:

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Um sweetie no, lots of people know what they are.

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Yeah, Reece’s and Hershey’s are more widely available in Coles and Woolworths these days. They both taste terrible, btw.

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I’d agree with you if it was 10 years ago, but the brand would be mainstream at this point, at least among millennials. You don’t need to go to import shops anymore for Peanut Butter Cups, they’re sold in Coles / Kmart / Target amongst other stores.

Not to mention that “American” food is still quite popular at the moment.

Judging by how often short dated Ben and Jerry’s has ended up in NQR and other discount supermarkets around Australia for a small fraction of that $11 ($3/tub the last time I saw it), I feel the tubs may not be as popular as they seem.