Services from the United Centre desk

Six working services that keep a consignment stall SETTLED

Trofi Group Limited books, weighs and settles consignment stalls from 5/F United Centre, 95 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong - 999077, Hong Kong (HK). The six services below are not separate products sold from a menu; they are the six stations of one continuous desk, and each one feeds the next.

A vendor can begin with a single station, but the desk works best when all six are running together. Read each entry for the practical detail, then bring your dates and stock list to a consultation.

Booth Rotation Planning

Rotation planning decides who stands where, and for how long, before a season opens. The desk builds a calendar that maps each booth to a category and a run length, then balances footfall so that a high traffic aisle does not carry every strong seller while a quiet aisle carries none. The output is a printed rotation sheet that the stall keeper can pin to the booth board and that the desk keeps in the vendor file.

Planning also covers the awkward weeks. When a double booking appears, or a venue changes its opening days, the desk works through the conflict on paper first, then issues a revised rotation with the date of the change recorded against every affected tag. Vendors are told in writing, and the booth rail is updated the same day so the wall matches the record.

We ask vendors for the dates they can actually attend, not the dates they would like to attend. A realistic rotation is worth more than an ambitious one, because a stall that is staffed on every run of its calendar builds a steady reputation with buyers who return to the same aisle each week. Where a vendor needs more than one booth, the desk plans the pair as a single rotation so that staff and stock can move between them without a gap.

Consignment Ticket Desks

The ticket desk is where goods change from a vendor possession into a consigned line. Each consignment receives a numbered ticket that records the seller, the category, the count, the condition and the receiving staff member. One copy travels with the goods, and one stub is spiked at the desk so a disputed line can always be traced back to the moment of handover.

Tickets are written rather than assumed. A short note on the ticket face explains any known defect, any reduced line and any item held back from sale, so that a later settlement does not have to reconstruct the facts from memory. When a vendor sends goods by carrier, the desk matches the carrier note to the ticket before the goods are placed on a booth.

The desk also issues replacement tickets when a consignment is split across two booths or returned unsold. Each replacement carries a reference to the original number, and the spike keeps the sequence intact. At the end of a run the stubs are counted against the tickets issued, which is the simplest check that nothing has gone missing between intake and settlement.

Settlement Run Cycles

Settlement runs close on a published cycle rather than on request. The desk sets the cycle at the start of the month, posts the dates on the tray board, and works each run in the same order: reconcile the tickets, balance the tray, note shortages and surpluses against the relevant stub, and issue a written statement to the vendor. A statement always carries the ticket numbers it covers.

A fixed cycle gives a vendor a predictable cash flow, which matters more than speed for a small seller. It also gives the desk a clean cut off point: once a run has closed, a late adjustment is handled in the next cycle and is flagged as an adjustment, so the history of a season remains readable rather than being rewritten at the end.

Statements are issued in English and are kept with the original tickets for the full retention period. If a vendor queries a line, the desk can produce the ticket, the intake weight and the statement line together, and the three documents normally answer the question without further correspondence.

Vendor Slot Allocations

Slot allocation matches the size of a booth to the size of a consignment. The desk keeps a current allocation sheet that shows which slots are taken, which fall free and which are held for a vendor who has asked for a larger run. The sheet is published from the United Centre office, and every change carries a date and a reason so the history of a slot can be read at any point in the season.

A waiting list keeps the smaller sellers in view. When a slot frees up, the desk works down the list in order and offers the slot for a defined period before it returns to general allocation. Vendors on the list are told their position, which reduces the repeated enquiries that otherwise consume the desk time that should go to ticket work.

Allocation is also a planning tool. If a vendor expects to grow, the desk can hold a slightly larger slot from mid season and move the vendor into it on a known date. The move is recorded against both slots, and the booth rail is updated so the stall keeper is never working from a stale tag.

Stall Inspections

Inspections are scheduled walks, not surprise visits. An inspector follows a short checklist that covers the booth structure, the signage, the safety of the frame and the labelling of stock, and files a note the same day. The note names any corrective item and a date by which it should be addressed, and the desk forwards a copy to the vendor.

The inspection note is deliberately brief. Longer reports tend to be read once and then filed, while a short list of one or two concrete items is more likely to be acted on before the next run. The desk tracks each open item and closes it when the vendor confirms the work, or when the next walk shows the item resolved.

Inspection history is kept with the ticket record, which is useful for two reasons. It shows a venue that the stall is managed to a consistent standard, and it gives a vendor an honest picture of how the booth has been kept over a season. When a dispute reaches the desk, a dated walk note is often the clearest evidence available.

Season Market Permits

Permit work is the long lead item on the desk. A season market normally asks for an application, a stock statement, an insurance confirmation and a closing return, and a single missing attachment can cost a vendor the whole season. The desk assembles the file, checks each item against the venue rulebook and lodges the pack well before the published date.

We keep a copy of the lodged pack and a note of every contact made with the venue, so that a query about the application can be answered from the file rather than from a search through email. If the venue changes a rule mid season, the desk reads the change against the current permits and tells affected vendors before the next run.

The closing return is treated as part of the service rather than an afterthought. It is prepared from the settlement statements, checked against the ticket record and lodged within the window the venue allows. Vendors who complete a full season with the desk end with a clean return and an archive they can hand to the next venue.

How the desk runs a season

1. Brief We take the market, the dates, the stock list and the venue rules, and we agree the shape of the season on paper.

2. Book The rotation and slot allocation are fixed, permits are lodged, and the booth tags are issued from the rail.

3. Weigh Goods are ticketed and weighed at intake, and the stubs are spiked at the desk against each run.

4. Settle Each cycle balances the tray, issues a statement and closes the season with the permit return and the archive.

Ask the desk to quote a season →