Geoff Hunt is a retired Australian squash player who is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in history. He was born in Melbourne in 1947 and was ranked the World No.1 squash player from 1975 to 1980. He won the World Open title four times. I used to play a bit of squash too. While not quite in Geoff’s league, I played in the lower ranks for about 30 years and I was never very good. In fact I only had two shots – a drop shot and a lob. Combined they could be deadly when it
came off. Just drop a shot at the front of the court, the other guy runs at breakneck speed to hit the ball while and while out of position, just lob the ball over his head. This has a number of effects. It wins the point and it frustrates the opponent enormously. Do it three or four times in a row and the game is won.
Sadly, squash is almost a thing of the past. The few courts that remain are being converted to gyms and childcare centres, while a couple of courts may be retained.
So what went wrong over a period of 20 odd years while tennis continues to flourish?
In an attempt to revive interest, various changes were made. Competition courts were made of glass to allow more spectators to see the game and to allow better TV coverage. And the black ball which was difficult to see was impregnated with diamond chips which makes it look white on camera. But it hasn’t helped much. One contributing factor is that the game became an endurance test. It became boring. The boasts disappeared. The lobs disappeared. The drop shots all but disappeared and the game has almost disappeared.
Certain formats in retail can afford to be boring. In fact it works well for some retailers. Go into any Bunnings and the layout is similar. Same with Dan Murphy’s. Same with Woolworths and many others. Consumers like this and get cranky when layouts change. But it doesn’t work in all formats. Myer is boring. David Jones is boring. Sussans is boring. And it’s not confined to retail. Holiday Inns are boring. Shoe shine and ice machine at the end of the corridor on every second floor.
Department and other stores used to be fun. They were often made up of different levels because of the acquisition of the building next door. There were nooks and crannies. There were old escalators and lifts. There was Mrs Slocum and Mr Humphreys and young Mr Grace. There was personality.
Today there is a sterility and sameness devoid of any character. In the name of branding and economies of scale, store after store are dreary and tedious. The sales people are almost as boring. Usually young part timers manufactured in Stepford where the Stepford Wives originated.
Théophile Bader and Alphonse Kahn, the founders of Galeries Lafayette, designed a store in 1912 that is iconic. Where are the Théophile’s and Alphonse’s today?
Let’s hope that certain retail formats don’t follow the game of squash.
Stuart Bennie is a retail consultant at Impact Retailing www.impactretailing.com.au and can be contacted at stuart@impactretailing.com.au or 0414 631 702.