Shoemakers Wholesale in Mentone does not plan to open for foreign trade.
“I think the changes are hypocritical and don’t make any justifiable sense,” owner David Gigliotti said. “Our floor space is seven and a half thousand square meters and we are not allowed to have a person in store.”
Mr Gigliotti said it was unclear why visitors to homes were allowed from Friday but shoppers in retail stores were not.
Gerry Harvey says foreign trade is not good for his Harvey Norman stores.Credit:Janie Barrett
Gerry Harvey, owner of Harvey Norman, said foreign trade would not work for the electrical and furniture chain. “I can’t take my living rooms, my fridges and my beds outside,” he said. “What happens if it rains? I kinda miss it, I don’t understand.
Showers are forecast for the first three days of the start of foreign trade in Melbourne.
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The lockdown has hit the sector hard, with the most recent data from the Australian Bureau of Retail Statistics showing spending in Victoria in August fell 3% from the previous month.
In comparison, South Australia and Western Australia, which were not subject to restrictions, recorded an increase in sales over the month.
However, Melbourne Mayor Sally Capp was optimistic about the potential for foreign trade and said the council was responding to inquiries about trestle tables for goods, clothes racks and even outdoor changing rooms.
“It’s kind of like when we started the outdoor dining program, in fact a number of our hospitality businesses said, ‘Oh no, we don’t do outdoor’ or ‘That won’t work. and of course it was a resounding success,” she said. “I think retailers have good thinking.”
Cr Capp said she hoped Victoria could move quickly to the 80 per cent full vaccination rate so retailers could have customers in store. “That’s really what’s going to make the biggest difference for traders. In the meantime, we’re just thinking about everything we can to empower the small business owners who have been hardest hit in Australia to do what they want to start earning money again.
The Government of Victoria has announced a $54.5 million outdoor economy program to help defray the costs of setting up street trading. Funding of $300 million is also being given to the City of Melbourne to support businesses and outdoor operations.
Romina Beltrame, owner of Il Papiro stationery store in Melbourne’s CBD, was planning to embrace open-air commerce in Degraves Street, hoping to attract customers who dined at nearby cafes and restaurants.
“We are doing our best and I hope it will be an exceptional year, we really need it,” she said. “There is a lag and so the sooner we start, the sooner we give people back the confidence they need to come out in droves that we need for Christmas trading.”
Ms Beltrame said she was just delighted to be able to open in some form. “Of course, we would have liked to open fully, but we will take what we can get and start the process.”
In Yarraville, Sun Bookshop owner Deb Force also planned to set up a small table for outdoor sales on Friday.
“I feel like we’re in a different position than Sydney. We have [almost] 2000 cases today and they’ve never been higher so I’m pretty happy to do what they say,” Ms Force said. “[The health advice] has been pretty perfect most of the time.
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