Stock take sales!

In South Africa, the days before Christmas are a mad panic of shopping. The concept of going to the mall in those days scares me - fighting for parking, pushing through the throngs of shoppers like a homesick salmon and then trying to find the correct gift.

In Australia, I did some shopping at the Chermside Westfield in the lead up to Christmas. Free underground parking, practically no-one in the centre - it was great. If you missed out on an opportunity to hit the shops, there was 36 hours of shopping at the centre (starting on the 23rd thru the night to the 24th) which seemed like a very clever idea.

But apparently, the shopping centre stood empty. Was this a sign of the financial crisis? NO! In Australia, everything goes on sale on the 26th. The shopping centre bursts at the seams as the whole of Brisbane pours in to get the good deal on the stock take sales.

The lesson : If you are going to pay staff overtime to work round the clock before Christmas, start the sales at the same time and maybe you will be able to get some more units out the door.