News & Discussion: CBD Retail

[monotonehell]

The number of sleazy late night massage parlours that have opened over the last few years has been absolutely disgraceful. But I guess when we have the highest unemployment level in Australia then many Asian females
are going to revert to this type of work.

Really? They aren't sleazy. They are perfectly above board actual massage places. The one on my corner is run by an old asian guy. He does the massages.

[how good is he]

Ghs, while I totally agree about the perception, the reality may be far different. I know that the 8-9 massage places in Hindley St are owned by a young Chinese guy (and am told he has also leased double floor shops on the ground of the new Holiday Inn.) They are strictly non sexual & employ many Asian female students ie studying Uni degreees here. In general, while I agree there growth is overwhelming but if it wasn't for them I believe those b or c grade shops would just be sitting vacant anyway (possibly for years). The question then is, what would you prefer?

[mshagg]

The number of sleazy late night massage parlours that have opened over the last few years has been absolutely disgraceful. But I guess when we have the highest unemployment level in Australia then many Asian females
are going to revert to this type of work.

Always enjoy your cultural insights

[ghs]

Ghs, while I totally agree about the perception, the reality may be far different. I know that the 8-9 massage places in Hindley St are owned by a young Chinese guy (and am told he has also leased double floor shops on the ground of the new Holiday Inn.) They are strictly non sexual & employ many Asian female students ie studying Uni degreees here. In general, while I agree there growth is overwhelming but if it wasn't for them I believe those b or c grade shops would just be sitting vacant anyway (possibly for years). The question then is, what would you prefer?

Mate, if these massage places are all above board then why are they all still open at 10pm at night with flashing lights lol ?

Also why do you think he's taken out double floor shops of the Holiday Inn ??

Probably because they can have legitimate massages on the ground floor and then have massages with extras
upstairs lol.The massage place on Morphett street (in the Oaks building) is well known for this.

Also if all of these massage places are non-sexual then I doubt there would be the demand for so many of them.

[Ben]

After what appeared to be a 2 year long fitout Soul Origin opened today in Rundle Place.

[how good is he]

Ghs, as I said I am referring to the 7-8 owned by the same guy in Hindley St. No doubt there are also many dubious ones like the one you mention. However my point is its unfair though to tar all of them with the same brush. Why won't you even contemplate there are genuine ones? Ones like Eassa spa, Sakura, noname massage and the new ones coming in the holiday inn have/will have expensive fit-outs and the owners aren't going to jeopardise all that financial investment/long term leases with the risk they can be shut down overnight because of illegal activity. Remember the landlords/council/Sapol have the power to close them down anytime if they are operating illegally. Why not go into some of the (genuine) places and make your own enquires and then report back to the forum rather than make uninformed comments? Further the point you have ignored is that many shops would be empty (for possibly years) without them.

[The Scooter Guy]

After what appeared to be a 2 year long fitout Soul Origin opened today in Rundle Place.

Roll'd (in the former HJ) at City Cross still isn't going forward yet, presumably due to low funds. I really want Grenfell St to be free of the doldrums, especially after the state elections next year.
Aussie Discount Souvenirs has enlarged into the former Shisi at Southern Cross Arcade.
After a lot of years, JR/Duty Free on King William St is officially saying "That's it!", "It's Over!", "The End", "That's All Folks!", "Thank You!", "We're Done", "We're Finished", "We're Through", "We've Had It", Times Up!", "Bye Bye", "Adios!", "Sayonara!", "Au Revoir", "Avedorsen", "Farewell!", "So long!", "Cheerio", "Tootleloo!", "We Give Up!", "We're Outta Here!", "We Really Mean It!", "No Kidding!", "No More!", and soon, "Everything Goes!"

[ghs]

There's also some type of fast food outlet going in on the
Corner of morphett street and Hindley street. The
fit out for this is also taking forever.

[arki]

The number of sleazy late night massage parlours that have opened over the last few years has been absolutely disgraceful. But I guess when we have the highest unemployment level in Australia then many Asian females
are going to revert to this type of work.

Always enjoy your cultural insights

Wouldn't be a ghs post without a line or two of casual racism!

[mshagg]

Not sure if this is the right thread for it, but anyone know the other side of the story to combeeze? They have a call to arms on Facebook because apparently the Rundle Mall Management Authority is moving them on after 30 June. Apologies I can't post a link (easily) from the phone.

The resulting comments are fairly typical "they wonder why the mall is dead" etc.

Assume there's another side to it but couldnt see anything at a glance.

Tiser article here:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/thesource ... 19164e6a10

[crawf]

The resulting comments are fairly typical "they wonder why the mall is dead" etc.

Anyone who makes these comments, clearly live way out in the suburbs and probably haven't stepped foot in town since Westpac was built. Rundle Mall is always a buzz anytime I go there, both weekdays and weekends. I'm sick of hearing it.

It could do with more activity at night, though it is primarily a 'retail precinct'

P.S not an attack on you mshagg

[Patrick_27]

Not sure if this is the right thread for it, but anyone know the other side of the story to combeeze? They have a call to arms on Facebook because apparently the Rundle Mall Management Authority is moving them on after 30 June. Apologies I can't post a link (easily) from the phone.

The resulting comments are fairly typical "they wonder why the mall is dead" etc.

Assume there's another side to it but couldnt see anything at a glance.

Tiser article here:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/thesource ... 19164e6a10

Whilst I know these guys have done a bit in terms of helping the homeless, their offerings and the set up itself is kind of tacky. Almost as bad as the fruit smoothie stall that sets up in summer and makes drinks with a couple of the Target brand magic bullets. Call me a snob, but considering they ousted a lot of quality tenants in the centre of the mall during the upgrade, they should be at-least trying to uphold the standard of the pop-up tenants who have taken their place.

[mshagg]

Not sure if this is the right thread for it, but anyone know the other side of the story to combeeze? They have a call to arms on Facebook because apparently the Rundle Mall Management Authority is moving them on after 30 June. Apologies I can't post a link (easily) from the phone.

The resulting comments are fairly typical "they wonder why the mall is dead" etc.

Assume there's another side to it but couldnt see anything at a glance.

Tiser article here:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/thesource ... 19164e6a10

Whilst I know these guys have done a bit in terms of helping the homeless, their offerings and the set up itself is kind of tacky. Almost as bad as the fruit smoothie stall that sets up in summer and makes drinks with a couple of the Target brand magic bullets. Call me a snob, but considering they ousted a lot of quality tenants in the centre of the mall during the upgrade, they should be at-least trying to uphold the standard of the pop-up tenants who have taken their place.

Also seems to be at odds with the pop up concept, given they've been trading daily for like 3 years. I would have thought the idea was to get a bit of rotation happening for potential new vendors, with successful ones moving to stand on their own feet, rather than having a quasi permanent tenancy where something transient seems better placed.

[SRW]

Also seems to be at odds with the pop up concept, given they've been trading daily for like 3 years. I would have thought the idea was to get a bit of rotation happening for potential new vendors, with successful ones moving to stand on their own feet, rather than having a quasi permanent tenancy where something transient seems better placed.

Nail on the head! The pop up concept was supposed to deliver constantly changing elements so that visitor experience was always fresh and interesting. What we've got instead are semi-permanent tenants with low-grade setups. We may as well have tenancies of a quality build if there's not going to be any rotation of vendors.

As far as Combeeze goes, I don't really know the business, but something feels a little feigned in the deal they're making of being charitable for having a pay it forward option...

[SouthAussie94]

Combreeze's side of the story:

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:

The silver retro “Combeeze” Volkswagen Combi, operated by hospitality legends - The Schmidts, has been advised by the Rundle Mall Management Authority that its number is up.

Successfully trading in The Mall for the past three and half years, “Combeeze” not only offers toasted cheese sandwiches at the affordable price of $2.50, but also serves up coffee with a ‘pay it forward’ scheme for Adelaide’s homeless.

It quickly earned icon status as a favourite ‘selfie’ backdrop for visitors and tourists alike (little wonder with a vehicle that is beyond the norm), with even the resident four-legged canine mascot – Zorro, becoming popular with regular morning visitors (if he is not in residence, the endless flow of queries of his whereabouts are a hot topic).

Speaking on behalf of their son Zaine, Anton and Lyneece Schmidt said they are bewildered, frustrated and at a total loss as to why the RMMA would simply ‘pull the pin’ on a hugely successful and unique operation.

“It’s hard enough out there in the market as it is, let alone when a lad in his twenties starts something from scratch, works bloody hard at it and builds it up only to have office tower bureaucrats making questionable decisions without knowing what the people want. And enjoying ‘smashing’ a small business operator at the same time,” Anton Schmidt said.

He goes on to say, “if they gave us a justified reason, like we (RMMA) don’t approve of your ‘pass it on to the homeless scheme’ or you’re unreliable or unpopular then they would have a case.”

“We are at a point where we need to call on the public to show their support and even question this management as to why a thriving and popular mall establishment would be shut down on June 30, because they are conducting feasibility processes or carrying out reviews of The Mall’s make up,” Mr Schmidt said.

“Honestly, we are beyond angry. We just want a fair go and make people aware of these people who are given authority, not necessarily earned or qualified, that can change other people’s lives with devastating outcomes.”

Show your support on the Combeeze Facebook page or petition to change this decision by writing to RMMA’s General Manager at [email protected], or sharing your opinion on the Rundle Mall Facebook page.

RMMA Point of view:

Rundle Mall Management Authority Statement Regarding Activations in Rundle Mall.

Combeeze are not being evicted from Rundle Mall. Combeeze entered into a commercial agreement to trade from Rundle Mall three years ago, which is due to expire on 30 June 2017. This expiry date has remained unchanged since its commencement in 2014. The business was reminded of this expiration in February and subsequently informed of the Rundle Mall Management Authority’s (RMMA) commercial decision to not offer an additional permit upon the expiration.

Combeeze had the privilege of being one of the first operators to trade from the newly refurbished Rundle Mall, but this does not afford them the right to ongoing trade in one location indefinitely. The intention of activation zones as part of the Rundle Mall Redevelopment has always been to allow for short term use of the Mall itself by plug-n-play operators.

When RMMA advised Combeeze of the decision to not offer a new permit, it was accompanied with an explanation which included reminders of a number of breaches of their permit. The breaches include repeated late payments of rent, and instances of unsafe behaviour from the operators occurring in the Mall involving members of RMMA staff, contractors and the public. We also understand that the lessee company was de-registered late last year, which forms a fundamental breach of the relationship. This breach potentially gave RMMA the right to evict Combeeze from the Mall before the permit expiration date. We chose not to in favour of allowing them to trade until the end of the existing permit term.

RMMA has asked Combeeze to provide a proposal to reconsider the Combeeze offer with some fresh approaches, but the proposal was never received. The operators were not willing to participate in these negotiations.

Combeeze is a commercial business, ultimately operating for commercial outcomes. The charitable activity undertaken by the business serves a worthy cause, however does not take away from their responsibilities under their commercial lease arrangement.

The Permit provided by the RMMA allows the use of our public space for mobile business operation, not being able to trade from the Mall does not impact on Combeeze ability to trade as a mobile business elsewhere and continue its good work supporting the homeless from other locations in Adelaide.

At RMMA it is our responsibility to offer fair and equitable conditions for all our tenants. It is also our responsibility to ensure the safety and positive experience of all who, live, work and use the Mall on a daily basis. In order to do this, we need to be able to exercise our right as a lessee to hold permit holders to account for breaches and ensure they operate within the guidelines set out for all who have agreements to trade in the Mall. We also need to be able to alter the service and retail offering in the Mall to continue to offer visitors new and vibrant food, beverage and shopping experiences.

The RMMA does not tolerate poor behaviour, we do not tolerate poor business operation at the expense of providing other local business with an opportunity to trade, and we do not tolerate situations that place members of the public at risk. Continuing to do business with Combeeze would amount to all of these.

We believe we are making a responsible decision for our community and members of the public. We are taking this action on their behalf.