Jingle Tills: How is the lead up to Christmas going at the Central Flea Market?

Tuesday, 3 December 2024

_In the second article of a five-part series, senior business reporter Aimee Shaw takes a look at how retail is tracking at shopping hot spots _in a year_ in which consumer spending has hit the skids._

Jazz music fills the air as shoppers wade through vintage offferings. Stalls set up in Auckland’s Takutai Square are surprisingly humming for early on a Sunday morning.

It is the first time Balmoral’s Central Flea Market has been up and running in Auckland’s CBD, attracting a bigger pool of shoppers and those living in the city.

The offerings are an eclectic mix of old clothes and books, food vendors selling everything from fish balls to pastries and stalls laden with trinkets, wooden signs, flowers and even violins.

The Central Flea Market is usually held on 170 Balmoral Road, but is on tour this weekend, venturing further north to the country’s largest concrete jungle in an effort to tap into a wider audience.

“We don’t need any more fast fashion, or any more Temus or Alibabas in our life, so if we can repurpose things and resell them here then this is the way to go,” said market organiser Nicole Stewart, co-founder of popular second-hand retail business Junk & Disorderly.

Aucklanders were out in droves shopping for vintage Christmas gifts. And sellers were in good spirits as visitor numbers climbed through the morning, swelling from 300 people around 10am to 600 by the time The Post left two hours later.

Stewart said just over 60 vendors set up shop - about half the usual number on any given weekend in Balmoral - but through the day the market attracted 3000 people.

With bank transfers and Eftpos facilities available, it seemed nothing could hold shoppers, old and young, back from making a purchase - or two.

One shopper, Lily Cooper, said she had nabbed a couple of vintage cardigans and a bag of other goodies. She was happy with the prices and also bought a birthday gift for a friend.

Cooper said second-hand and Sunday markets were important part of the retail mix, and especially right now with many New Zealanders feeling the pinch of the cost of living crisis.

“It’s definitely better than going to the store to get this kind of stuff.”

This market is one of the more popular ones in Auckland and is slightly different to others as it has a strict policy that the items on sale have to be second-hand or handmade by the seller.

Stallholders can’t even sell handmade goods made somewhere else or by someone else.

The market is Stewart’s way of shunning fast fashion.

“We call it Central Flea On Tour and we might pop up somewhere else but our livelihood is always going to be in Balmoral.”

It was started in 2019 to draw shoppers to Junk & Disorderly and is now a family effort, with Stewart’s sons selling bacon and egg butties and doing admin and social media content, and her daughter on hand for coffee and pastries.

Hollie Powderly, a vintage clothing stall operator, arrived at 8am to set up in time for the markets to kick off at 9am.

Shoppers appeared in good spirits and were “spend happy”, said Powderly. She was pleased with sales and could see that many were in the market for Christmas gifts.

“I’ve got way too many clothes, I’m a bit of a hoarder, so I thought I’d give the markets a go. So far I’m really pleased with how sales are going.

“You can get things a little bit different [at the markets], different pieces that you don’t find anywhere else.”

P&C Works stall operator Corey Whyte, who makes and sells creations such as bowls and signs from salvaged and recycled wood, said it was pleasing to see lots of people browsing and visiting the markets, in part thanks to the Santa Parade happening on Queen Street and a couple of cruise ships docked in the harbour.

“I think it is going to be a really good sales day,” Whyte said, reflecting general sentiment from most sellers at the market.

‘Retail under pressure’

While sales of second-hand goods are going strong ahead of Christmas, elsewhere in the retail sphere, overall sales are down.

The most recent data from the retail trade survey for the September quarter shows the total volume of retail sales decreased 0.1%, compared with the previous June quarter.

Ten of the 15 retail industries had lower retail sales volumes in the quarter, with the largest falls in retail activity seen across supermarket and grocery stores, and food and beverage services.

Retail NZ says 70% of its members did not meet their sales targets in the July-September quarter, and although there were early signs that the economy was starting to improve, this was not enough to encourage consumers to spend more during the quarter.

“The next few weeks are critical for retailers with key sales periods including the Black Friday sales and Christmas promotions,” says Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young.

“Many retailers rely heavily on strong sales during this period to ensure they have a buffer for quieter months. The turnaround in the economy can't come soon enough for the retail sector.”