I always find it interesting when an idea or a player in an
industry changes the game! A couple that come to mind at present is Uber v Taxi
and Merivale in entertainment in Sydney.
Merivale has been around Sydney for decades in the form of
Slipp Inn, Angel Place, CBD (a favourite), Ivy and many more! Recently they
have set up close to me with the Coogee Pavilion in an iconic building at the
north end of Coogee; this bar was previously known as the Palace, Pallacio etc.
I was down there last week and as usual they have created a great bar, which is
attracting great crowds. Daylight savings has only just started, summer is
coming, as are more levels of the Pavilion – they are only just starting!
The bar options at Coogee for decades have been similar. The
demographics of Coogee have been changing as have peoples expectations of bars.
You only need to look at all the wine bars doing a great trade all over. The
people of Coogee and surrounds have been crying out for bars like this close to
home rather than having to taxi home from Paddington, Surry Hills and
Darlinghurst…
Are Merivale management magicians…? Often when you go to
these bars friends comment it is like such and such bar in New York, Paris etc.
It would appear Merivale management travel the world, see good ideas and
implement some of these ideas very well in the right locations with little
tweaks for the local market! This does not sound too hard, though it takes
plenty of conviction, commitment, consistency and hard work! We have all seen
good bars and other business ideas while travelling and thought I should set
that up when I get home and have a cool business that make a fortune…