The New Moor Market

[bazjea]

Some friends and I have just opened a shop in the Market; early indications are that we are meeting our predictions despite the naysayers and we have plans to expand the business. To do this we have offered to work WITH the council and the Moor Management team to try to increase the footfall to the general area and, perhaps provocatively, not to attempt to be the cheapest shop in Sheffield. That area is well catered for.

 

In our business plan we took note of the (generally) negative comments about the Market's position, but that is something that none of us, Council, traders or customers, may alter easily. It is unlikely anybody who prefers to shop in supermarkets for the undoubted convenience that they provide, will switch their allegiance to Moor Market. And there are a group of us who do not wish them to do that and we do not court their business. Several posters note quite accurately that no small trader can match loss leaders. Well, for about a week they might.

 

 

 

The reason Beer Central is successful, is because he sells products which he earnestly believes represent the best of what is available and his disparate customer base suggests his strategy works. People who want 4 X Pale Rider for a fiver will not be shopping there, or certainly wont be buying their Pale Rider there, but try asking anyone in the supermarket which of their beers features Mosaic hops and you could be in for a long wait. Beer Central offers service and range and the mucky bit in the bottom of some bottles is there for a reason.

 

The market probably won't survive if it retains its current form and it will be trying to effect the change which will be interesting, but if Sheffielders just put the market down without noticing the shoots of new growth that are there it will fail. Don't knock it in its entirety, but use it for those things that none of the supermarkets stock. Live lobster anyone?

 

Excellent Post. Hope you succeed with your venture.It is good to see a well balanced posting

Makes a refreshing change from the usual. "There is nowhere to park".

"There are no buses nearby"etc Brigade

 

look foward to visiting the market next week,will look out for your shop.

[camraboy]

Thanks for the encouragement. Patrick, the owner, will be delighted to welcome you at LOURO, Units 94-96 and show you some of our unique Iberian delicatessen products.

[FIRETHORN1]

Good post Camraboy, I hope that your stall selling Iberian deli products starts off with a bang and grows into a success. I happen to quite like the Moor Market. I liked the old Castle Market too -but I agree that we have to move with the times. What I like about the the new Market is that it incorporates some of the stuff that was always available in the old Castle Market - like the meat, fish, fruit & Veg, bread, pick n' mix sweets, but it also incorporates some of what "modern" shoppers like too - like the craft beer shop, the posh olive stall.....and dare I say it, Camraboy's Iberian deli stall. I like the fact that as well as the usual meat and fish you can buy in the high street or supermarkets, you can also get other, less common stuff in the market...like proper mutton, pork, lamb and beef cuts with a bit of fat and skin still on them, fresh crab-claws, lobster, brown shrimp etc. The posh coffee shop and the posh beer shop are great too - yes, expensive, but interesting places run by people who are passionate about their products - so why not splash out on an occasional treat?

 

The bag stall on the right, just after the beer shop, is pretty good value, you can buy knitting wool, sewing and craft materials in there, there's plenty of different types of food to eat if you fancy sitting down for a coffee and a snack.

 

I definitely like the new Market and although I accept that it still has a lot of room for improvement and expansion, I don't accept some of the more extreme negative comments that some people have posted on here. The acessibility argument is just plain daft. Wherever you get off the bus or tram in Sheffield city centre, it's no more than an easy 15 minute stroll away - unless you have mobility problems. I wish more people would open up their minds a bit and give it a chance.

[flantastico]

I see a whole series of stalls has opened over the past few weeks. One sells pizzas constructed to order, another fruit wines, another Iberian foods, another American confectionary. There is now a herbalist and separately a Chinese masseur.

 

I wonder whether this means the council has dropped the rents?

[Wazzock]

I use the Sweet stall quite often, he actually used to be on Ecclesall Road

[camraboy]

I don't think the council has lowered the rents, but it recognises the issues facing start up companies and has a flexible approach.It is also trying to be more effective at discouraging start ups whose business plan is poor, since if/when they fail it is all to easy to blame the market rather than a business that had not paid sufficient attention to the realities of trading.

 

On the upside, our own business is getting significant custom from repeat shoppers who, having set foot inside the market, have found it was not as bad as they feared. It will take a while, but there is a shift of attitude and direction in a fair group of traders and that, coupled with some more directed advertising and promotions, should raise the martket's status as a useful place to shop.

 

At least the profits from the market get recycled into the local community.

[Mr Bloke]

I don't think the council has lowered the rents, but it recognises the issues facing start up companies and has a flexible approach.It is also trying to be more effective at discouraging start ups whose business plan is poor, since if/when they fail it is all to easy to blame the market rather than a business that had not paid sufficient attention to the realities of trading.

:hihi:

That's brilliant!

 

I didn't realise the council did irony!

[999tigger]

I see a whole series of stalls has opened over the past few weeks. One sells pizzas constructed to order, another fruit wines, another Iberian foods, another American confectionary. There is now a herbalist and separately a Chinese masseur.

 

I wonder whether this means the council has dropped the rents?

 

I also see some of those have already shut down? the Pizza place I havent seen open and a coiple selling pies and baked goods seem to have started and closed.

 

Anyone verify this? I know soemtimes they only open on certain days.

[samssong]

I also see some of those have already shut down? the Pizza place I havent seen open and a coiple selling pies and baked goods seem to have started and closed.

 

Anyone verify this? I know soemtimes they only open on certain days.

If the rents are half of what they should be then who is paying for the Market .

I ask this because the rents where originally meant to cover the building costs and a loan that goes well into this century .

That is what the Sheffield Telegraph stated a couple of years ago.

[999tigger]

If the rents are half of what they should be then who is paying for the Market .

I ask this because the rents where originally meant to cover the building costs and a loan that goes well into this century .

That is what the Sheffield Telegraph stated a couple of years ago.

 

Its just an issue of finance. If the rents are lower now, then they will repay the loan back over a longer period.