An Eltham man has realised that he hasn’t been to Smith Street, Collingwood, in about five years, coincidentally the same amount of time since the Nike Factory Outlet relocated to Uni Hill in Bundoora. The realisation came to him on the weekend as he dropped his 19-year-old daughter and her friends off at a cool shopfront bar on Smith Street.
Reflecting on the realisation, the man told The Watsonia Bugle, “it really took me by surprise. We used to head in there once every two years or so to stock up on cheap sportswears and the like. We’d always grab a bite to eat while we were in there you know. I remember that part of Melbourne when it used to be pretty rough. Bit soft now. I guess that’s all the gentrification they talk about.
“Factory outlets were a big deal in those days, but now they have DFO and all them, it really changed the retail landscape. Now I can just go to Uni Hill and get everything I need in one spot.”
The Watsonia Bugle 