NATIONAL: The fear injected by the recent economic downturn still has a stranglehold on independent retailers's buying habits, a wholesaler has claimed.
Founder of Australian shapewear company Bella Bodies, Michel Schumacher, says demand for her product from customers is "at an all time high". It is independent retailers, still scarred by the fall in retail spending that marked the height of the global financial crisis, that are now impeding sales growth for the sector, Schumacher said.
"Over the past six months I've had a plethora of phone calls and enquiries about my newest garments, with women wanting to know where their nearest stockist is. Most times, I've had to find other avenues to provide them with the stock they want since boutiques have become hesitant to buy new styles in fear of them not selling as quickly as they used to," Schumacher said.
"I'm confident in our product range and I've been disappointed by the response of retailers and their reluctance to take on new stock, especially when the stock isn't sold at major retail outlets and the consumer demand is so high."
Schumacher's experience of increasing consumer demand is reflected in figures obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Trend estimate turnover for the retail industry for September 2009 stood at $19,784,400. This was well up on the trend estimate turnover for September 2008, $18,351,900.
The September 2009 figure was only just short of the trend estimate turnover that was recorded in September 2007, prior to the impact of the global financial crisis on Australian retail spending. The September 2007 trend estimate turnover was $19,799,300.