Second-Hand Economy Boom Prompts Business Expansion
The booming second-hand economy has prompted furniture dealer and retailer Mrs. Secondhand to acquire an industrial unit in Melbourne’s inner-north as an additional store and distribution centre for its expanding business.
Fitzroys Agency Associate Ervin Niyaz negotiated the off-market sale of 7/188 Plenty Road, Preston for $520,000 on behalf of Gruklap Pty Ltd and R & L Kimber Nominees Pty Ltd.
The vacant 196sqm warehouse and storage unit is within a 9-unit development built in the 1970s and which has shared parking spaces in the common area.
Mrs. Secondhand has been buying and selling secondhand goods since 2000. Their owners also operate a decluttering and property clearance business Pack Up Your Troubles, which includes working with numerous not-for-profit and community organisations to assist and support their clients.
The business sells online and globally via Gumtree and Facebook, while its warehouse shop buys and sells locally.
Niyaz was able to secure the deal using Fitzroys’ network of contacts. Mrs. Secondhand is making its 1st expansion from its existing warehouse in Brunswick, having run a successful business for a number of years and experiencing an acceleration during the COVID period.
“There has naturally been a greater focus on people’s homes over the past 12 months. With more flexible working arrangements becoming normalised, people will continue to explore enhancements to their home and workspace environment,” Niyaz said.
“Second-hand items can present unique character and quality, and satisfy nostalgia.
“Buyers are becoming more discerning when it comes to sustainability, and shopping for second-hand goods and items are seen as an immediate way to reduce an individual’s environmental footprint.”
A surge in activity in response to COVID was quickly seen throughout the second-hand economy, from op shops and independent operators through to online platforms such as Gumtree and eBay.
“Financial impacts of COVID have also shifted attention towards the second-hand economy, with some looking to make money from selling excess items around the home, and others looking for more cost-effective ways to acquire them,” Niyaz said.
“Second-hand furniture, homewares, clothing and other items will continue to experience a newfound popularity.”
Niyaz added that it made better financial sense for Mrs. Secondhand to own rather than rent its next location, with the business in a strong financial position and historic-low interest rates making buying a more attractive proposition.
World’s Biggest Pie-Making Factory Part of $141m Deal
ASX-listed fund manager Charter Hall has acquired a pair of food-making facilities in Bairnsdale and Pakenham for $141 million, in a sale and leaseback deal with Patties Foods. The deal includes a 30-year leaseback over each facility to Patties Foods.
Patties Foods is the maker of Four’N Twenty, Patties, Herbert Adams, Boscastle, Nanna’s, and Ruffie Rustic Foods, and recently bought the ready-to-eat meals business Fitness Outcomes.
The properties include Patties’ main production facility in Bairnsdale, which is on a 15.8ha site and is the world’s largest pie manufacturing facility, as well as a 22,384sqm manufacturing and meal preparation facility in Pakenham.
Charter Hall made the purchase through the its unlisted Charter Hall Direct Industrial Fund No 4.
The transaction takes place within days of industrial real estate group ESR partnering with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC to buy Blackstone’s Milestone Logistics portfolio for $3.8 billion, in what is believed to be Australia’s biggest-ever direct property transaction.
The portfolio has 45 assets and returns around $150 million each year in fully-leased income from about 100 different tenants. They include Woolworths, the world’s largest cold storage operator Lineage Logistics, WesTrac and Toll. The sites are located in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
Disclosure: The weekly Fitzroys Property Wrap is for information only on transactions in the Melbourne property market. Fitzroys provides this information as a public service. We are not purporting that all sales and leases within this report were transacted by Fitzroys. Terms/Privacy © Copyright 2021 Fitzroys.