Giant Bazaar Planned For Site In South Melbourne
The Age
Monday August 16, 1993
LISA MITCHELL talks to the planners of an ambitious superstore.
A MELBOURNE company is planning to open a variation on the computer superstore theme by launching a giant bazaar on 15 October in South Melbourne.
The Computer Age story last week on Sydney retailer Harvey Norman's superstore plans flushed out the proposals from a company called Halcyon Corporation.
Halcyon's solicitor, Mr John Lawrence, of Walsh Spriggs Lawrence, revealed the blueprint to Computer Age three weeks before its planned media release to try to salvage some of the spotlight.
Halcyon was a little short on firm details. It said its two directors, one involved full time in the computer industry, the other ``tangentially concerned but with entrepreneurial skills", could not be named until ``certain legal obligations" were settled.
It admitted that negotiations for the site in Kavanagh Street had also not been finalised.
Halcyon's proposed Melbourne Computer Supermarket (MCS) will offer a massive 30,000 carpeted square feet for lease to 30 to 40 retailers.
That will dwarf the Harvey Norman model for its two stores, one 15,000 square feet in Sydney and the other, in Newcastle, 11,000 square feet.
Mr Lawrence said participating retailers would enjoy leases at one- third of the cost of any commercial site in the city or suburban shopping centres. Each space would be partitioned to provide flexibility in sizing the areas to suit each retailer.
There is no doubt that if the plan proceeds, the store will have an impact on inner city computer dealers, but Halcyon claims there is a high inquiry rate from resellers looking to join MCS.
Despite its name, Melbourne Computer Supermarket would be more of a permanent PC show in style, Mr Lawrence said.
It would aim to provide a good balance of retailers and all computer ware imaginable: printer ribbons, cables-while-you-wait, shareware software, low-end and name brand PCs, games, hard disks, motherboards, printers, and so on.
``If you can't find what you want in MCS, we will try to source it for you in Australia. If it isn't in Australia, we'll get it in." MCS will also scan the US market for popular products for its shelves.
A novelty shop would provide an esoteric fare of Escher mouse mats and MotorMouse Inc's replica lamborghini mice. A theatrette for 170 people would stage live demonstrations, product launches and entertainment of the computer kind. Halcyon hopes to lure software publishing houses away from traditional venues like the Sheraton and Windsor hotels to its theatrette for corporate customer launches.
A service centre would upgrade memory boards or hard disks free of charge in most cases. Other features would include a small bank branch, an ATM for weekends, EFTPOS facilities, and telephone facilities. That's just on the ground floor. When you have exhausted the ``exhibits", you can take the spiral staircase (also under negotiation) down to the cafeteria and creche run by qualified child care workers.
Rather than lugging prospective purchases around with you (shopping trolleys don't roll well on carpet), all products will meet you wrapped and ribboned at the front counter. From there, it's a short walk to the 120-space car park behind the building, or the Arts Centre and Southbank car parks, or Flinders Street station.
MCS will open seven days a week, 8.30am to 5.30pm, with extended hours to 9pm on Thursday and Friday nights.
With many contracts yet to be signed, Halcyon is expecting its October opening date to slide to November. You won't need to read these pages for an update; the corporation has planned a $400,000 blanket media campaign for the first three weeks to christen MCS.
© 1993 The Age