Fremantle Markets move in fresh direction

THE Fremantle Markets is poised for a major facelift, with the owners set to overhaul the fresh produce section and create a one-stop shop with a local focus.

Fremantle Markets operators Jamie and John Murdoch have employed business development manager Anne Meyer to breathe fresh life into the markets, which will be modelled on Adelaide Central, and Prahran and the Queen Victoria Markets in Victoria.

Depending on council approval, the markets could open on an additional two days to attract supermarket shoppers.

With 40 new operators competing for stalls, the revamped markets will include a fresh seafood section, butcher, delicatessen, olive oil stall, cooking school, Swiss baker, coffee roaster, honey-maker, and a small wine merchant shop.

"We want to encourage more organic and biodynamic growers, because with the general public these days that's the direction food is going in," Ms Meyer said.

"We've been in discussions with [environmental scientist] Josh Byrne to create an edible garden section in the market so we can start doing small little gardens for people to take home."

While the operators concede current stallholders may feel threatened by the changes, Ms Meyer said there was no plan to "toss them all out and bring in professional operators".

Over the years, poor relations have developed between the Murdochs and a number of stallholders, who have complained of unjust rent increases forcing some to sell their leases, which range from $50,000 to $75,000.

The Fremantle council is investigating whether to take legal action against the Murdochs over claims by the Stallholders Association that the increases are in breach of lease agreements.

For their part the Murdochs say the rent increases - between 50 per cent and 300 per cent in some cases - follow artificially low rents from 1975, which sheltered stallholders from the full impact of the council's annual increases, and that the new rent structure is a result of an independent assessment.

Fremantle Markets marketing consultant Jim Ward said the rent issue had its origins in 1975.

"As the council came along every year to check and increase the rents, they would put on an increase of, say, 10 per cent and John [the Murdochs' father] would say 'we can't charge the stallholders 10 per cent, we'll give them 5 per cent'," Mr Ward said.

"And slowly the gap between the real market value and that being charged got wider and wider and wider."

Ms Meyer said current stallholders would have to achieve performance targets in order to remain as tenants, with cleanliness and professionalism key determining factors.

The company employed independent fresh food promotion business Fresh Finesse to assess current fresh produce tenants and advise them on areas of improvement.

Fremantle Markets director Jamie Murdoch said that, with the overhaul expected to be rolled out in June, the business plan was to attract locals back to the markets.

"We know that people spend $40 million in here every year so our target is to increase that to $60 million, and we know that we get 2.5 million people in here each year so we want to increase that to about 3.5 million," Mr Murdoch told WA Business News.

The Murdochs have an 18-year lease with the City of Fremantle to operate the markets with a clause that includes mandatory maintenance work of about $50,000 each year.

Markets director John Murdoch said with an annual promotional budget of $200,000, the refurbishment would coincide with a rebranding of the Fremantle Markets logo, a mass marketing campaign and a new website.

"We really want the place opened up out the front like the Queen Victoria Markets, but because of the anti-social behaviour out there [in the street], it prevents us opening the place up," he said.

"We want a sea breeze to flow through the building and push the hot air out so there's a natural airflow cooling the place down, but we can't.

"So we have architects working on how we can open up the fresh produce area to cool down that section, because we can't air-condition it."