By CASEY NEILL
DANDENONG Market could add destination dining to its attractions to bring in more shoppers.
This was one suggestion from City of Greater Dandenong corporate services director Mick Jaensch following his trip to the ninth International Public Markets conference in Barcelona in March.
At their 9 June meeting councillors received a report on the seven-night fact-finding mission which also included tours of four major London markets.
“Overseas markets really do act as the place for people to come together,” Mr Jaensch said.
“People come to Dandenong Market to shop and eat out of convenience.”
He said overseas markets were dining destinations.
“All of the nine markets visited were places where you could go and meet and have lunch either very casually or quite formally,” the report to councillors said.
“The experience from overseas emphasised the need for a future restaurant option within the market.”
Dandenong Market chairwoman Julie Busch made the journey too and their insights will go into a revised strategic plan for the market.
“The outcomes of the travel will prove beneficial to the future directions of the Dandenong Market and provided an excellent insight into what is working well overseas and the relevance of this to Dandenong,” the council report on the trip said.
Mr Jaensch and Ms Bush heard about the modernisation project being undertaken on Barcelona’s 43 markets and market trends from around the world.
They attended workshops on a variety of subjects including how new and old markets could stay relevant in a modern, competitive market place, and how markets serve civic, social and physical community needs.
They observed that London’s Camden Market was very much like the Dandenong Market World Food Fare – except with twice the number of food vendors in about half the space.
The other difference was it happened every Sunday, rather than once a year, and was based on a set-up and pack-up model.
They said the council and market invested heavily in promoting the single event and queried whether there was a future opportunity for a semi-permanent pop-up food offering during summer months “compared to the single event”.
Traders in Barcelona paid lower rents than their Australian counterparts but financially contributed to marketing, cleaning and maintenance directly.
“There remains a disconnect between what traders think council should be spending on marketing and actual level of resources for marketing at our market,” the council report said.
“Is there future potential for a more direct funding model which at the same time has more direct trader involvement in marketing decisions?”
Ms Bush made a presentation to the conference about the role Dandenong Market played in creating jobs and business opportunities for emerging communities.
“The growth and prosperity of Dandenong has been closely linked to the success of the market from the earliest days,” she said.
The City of Greater Dandenong completed a $26 million redevelopment at Dandenong Market between 2005 and 2010.
What changes would you like to see at Dandenong Market? Email journal@starnewsgroup.com.au or visit www.facebook.com/DandenongJournal.
