6 February 2009

Where and why: Major retaillers

6 February 2009 | creative_canberran

Where do you shop in Canberra and why?

As the economy heads for tougher times ahead, there is much talk around Canberra about the unsustainable number of major retailers competing for our business in a relatively small market.

Some say that we’ll see some well known stores close, others merge and significant change overall in the local retail landscape.

Where we shop and why we choose certain places over others will be a clue to the future.

Do you always go to the bargain retaillers, Good Guys, Bing Lee, etc first?

Harvey Norman vs Domayne… which do you like?

Is there really a difference?

Can upmarket retailers like David Jones compete with bargain electronics stores?

Do they need to?

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deezagood10:22 am 08 Feb 09

Agree with Miz – Good Guys at Tuggers are fantastic and I have found them to be superior to their own store at Fyshwick, Harvey’s, David Jones and Myer in terms of service, price-matching, delivery and general helpfulness. Just yesterday I went in there to get a new printer and the young fellow spent quite a lot of time discussing my exact needs – when he realised that their store didn’t have the model that I (urgently) needed, he actually wrote down the best model for me and sent me off to Officeworks (who were also really helpful). Although he lost my sale yesterday, I will continue to buy future electronic purchases from that store as a gesture of good will.

In this economy, am trying to buy local as much as possible too – local fruit shop, butcher, chemist, newsagent etc… Aldi is just fantastic for non-perishables/basics and contrary to popular belief, quite a LOT of their products are made in Australia. I used to love shopping at DJs and Myers, but frankly the level of service (scant staff, and because they are so scant, they always seem extra busy and cranky) does not inspire me to shop there any more. Honestly – I had to wander around the store the other day looking for a checkout that was actually staffed and when I found one, there was a long line of waiting customers. No thanks.

miz12:49 am 08 Feb 09

I try to shop as locally as possible. I support my local butcher, fruit and veg shop, takeaway chippie (though I occasionally go to Livingstones at Wanniassa (Sangster place shops) if it’s en route, they are AWESOME) and newsagent, and get my milk delivered by Canberra Milk.

While we go to Woden Plaza occasionally, we mostly get everything else we can’t get at the local, at Tuggers centre (eg hardware, clothes, picture framing etc).

Good Guys Tuggers are great – Mr Rudd’s last stimulus handout provided us with a new microwave, replacing the 12 year old one, and a clothes dryer, replacing the cactus one. Excellent service and a good discount.

I haven’t found it worthwhile to travel all the way to the factory outlets for their dubious bargains. Harvey Norman is annoying – if you return something, you can only use the refund in that area (eg a refund from electrical can’t be used in furniture).

bd8410:50 pm 07 Feb 09

Deckard said :

What I get annoyed with is when you’re trying to buy something in Myer and there’s not a checkout person to be seen. Usually in the mens wear dept.

I’ve been tempted to walk out with a pair of pants as there was no one there to take my money.

myer are renouned for their poor service, not much has changed with the new owners either.

bd8410:49 pm 07 Feb 09

Personally it pays to do some good research on most things you buy and try and price match.

Domayne is overpriced Harvey Norman’s sister, it wouldn’t surprise me if they shut the one at Fyshwick, there’s never anybody in it and Gerry is looking at closing stores that exist in close proximity to HN. HN do have some good sales at times.

Myer and David Jones I generally only buy work clothes and formal shoes, most electical/computer equipment there are extremely overpriced or old models that are still overpriced, though I noticed Myer has improved since ditching Coles.

The Good guys can do you some good deals and Dick Smiths have generally low prices, bit you can normally beat that by going to Big W for some things.

As for clothes from discounters, I buy things that are styled the way I like. Target is pretty good (Civic is much better than Tuggers) and the mens clothes from Big W are generally pretty rubbishy these days, they used to be really good. Socks and underwear they are good as anything.

Discounters Go-lo etc are good for a lot of things where you just want something to use, also good for things like greeting cards or paper, pay $1 instead of $6 when it’s just going to get ripped in about 30 seconds anyway.

Deckard9:47 am 07 Feb 09

What I get annoyed with is when you’re trying to buy something in Myer and there’s not a checkout person to be seen. Usually in the mens wear dept.

I’ve been tempted to walk out with a pair of pants as there was no one there to take my money.

mariah scarey9:30 am 07 Feb 09

Harvey Norman and Domain are owned by the same people and are mostly the same products – just aimed at different demographics. I think Gerry’s wife handles the aesthetics et al.

Good guys have never given me a decent bargain. Last time I was there I went in looking for a decent price on an LCD panel (after researching online at dtvforum.info) and was told outright that the price I wanted wasn’t going to happen and if I could find it anywhere then to take it as it was less than wholesale. I knew this not to be true, walked out and in to Myers where they easily agreed to the price. Surprised really but Myers in Tuggeranong price match on electronics readily enough. I ended up buying a new canon camera through them as well. No fuss at all. By the way – Harvey Norman in Fyshwick agreed to the price of the LCD panel. Good guys ? Wont be back.

I’ve been using eBay as my first shopping point for a decade or so. Quite rare to pay full retail for items these days.

gomer8:02 am 07 Feb 09

hk0reduck said :

I don’t really understand the point of presenting yourself as a high-class retailer if you’re not going to make me leave feeling like a king.

I get the feeling that some of the so-called high-end retailers are just there to make the sales staff feel better, not the customer.

As an average Australian (average age, marriage, kids, car, salary, etc) I am time poor so I tend to go to the shop that can serve me quickest. I hate sales staff that don’t know what they are talking about of use a huge load of sales speak. Yesterday I went to a reputable camera shop and the best they could do was talk about mega pixels, and wide-angle. nothing about picture quality, independent testing or face recognition which I would expect from a good retailer. So my time was wasted. sorry about that rant but it just shits me.

Aldi’s Gungahlin for speed & shaded parking. I went to magnet mart for some wood once and the sales guy just about built my project for me at half the price I was expecting to pay. I also like those self-checkout things in Big-W.

260412:18 am 07 Feb 09

Groceries at Aldi (packaged goods and some fruit) and Alpha Fresh Foods (fruit/meat). They have the lowest prices and generally good quality.

Casualwear at Target – lasts a while and is reasonably stylish.

Work wear and shoes at David Jones, they have a good range of brands and good specials at times.

“Big” purchases generally at wherever we can get the best price. We do our own research and hence don’t give a rats about whether service is good or not. However, we’ve noticed that the Good Guys tend only to have cheaper brands, and that Bing Lee can only give discounts for cash because their sticker prices are high to begin with.

creative_canberran9:52 pm 06 Feb 09

tylersmayhem said :

These stinks of a marketing company using RA to gather data for free. If this is the case, please be upfront about it – then on yur bike!

Not the case. Just someone interested in why people choose certain retailers over others. Price alone can’t be the reason or David Jones, Domayne and Myer who don’t discount as aggressively would have gone bust. I know that I’ll pay more for decent service, and that I avoid cheap computer fairs and online grey market stores. I know that Domayne is just Harvey Norman in drag and Dick Smith (despite their claims) is neither cheap nor a place for expert advice. That’s my reasoning, just interested in other people’s.

Felix the Cat9:45 pm 06 Feb 09

I mostly go to Belconnen Mall for most of my “shopping”, and mostly at K-mart. I find they have a much better range than Target, shop assistants are pretty average in both stores so you’ve got to know what you want and where it is as the kids don’t (and don’t care).

Sometimes I browse at Rebel Sport but find they are too pricey for most stuff.

Last time I went to Harvey Norman I could get no sales assistant to help me when I was in the market for a GPS unit so I walked out went to Dick Smith and found a really helpful and knowledgeable no BS young man sales assistant who answered all my questions (and some I didn’t ask!), so I spent my $400 there.

I also go to Reject Shop quite regularly but again you pretty much need to know what it is you want and not rely on staff to help too much.

I hate going to Civic for shopping, especially the new bit of the Canberra Centre. Civic is hard to find a parking spot and when you do it’s as expensive as hell and/or a 2 mile walk from the shops you want to visit. Belconnen Mall is free and 99% of the time you can park undercover.

I do a fair bit of shopping online, usually a lot cheaper and better range of stuff + I don’t have to worry about parking and 11ty billion other shoppers with screaming snotty nosed brats in tow.

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