Burnie, TAS
Burnie is built on the banks of Emu Bay and is the fourth largest city in Tasmania. The city is a major industrial centre and is established as one of Tasmania's most important ports. The city's port has a large freight capacity and services the west coast mining industry. Burnie also houses one of the state's largest enterprises, a pulp and paper factory.The town services a population of 17,000 and is characterised by wooden houses which cling to the hills and overlook the bay.
Andrea Streets, owner of womenswear boutique, says Burnie has a prime location next to the sea and is within close proximity to numerous tourist destinations.
"Burnie is a pretty city because it's situated on the sea and there are a lot of tourist destinations that aren't too far away from Burnie. People travel through here to get to them. Cradle Mountain is only an hours drive from here."
Burnie's main shopping centre is located approximately 100m from the beach. Chain stores such as Just Jeans and Jeans West trade in the town but don't dominate the retail scene.
"There's a good mix of stores in the area. We have lots of little independents and not as many majors chains," says Streets.
"We don't have stores like Myer or Sportsgirl. That's what differentiates Burnie from a lot of other towns. Local retailers don't have the competition of the major chains because Burnie doesn't have the population to support them."
Studio Girl caters to women aged 17 plus, with top selling brands including Mr K, Bardot, Fashion Babe and Popstar.
Mensland store manaager Annette Boon says the town is currently experiencing a growth in the retail industry.
"A couple of years ago there were a lot of buildings that were vacant but it's very hard to find an empty shop now," says Boon.
"There's no vacant stores available to the new people that want to open up a business in Burnie."
Boon also says the town is undergoing major developments which will create new housing and retail opportunities for people in the area.
"The foreshore is going to be redeveloped which will bring a lot more people into town. A new apartment building will also be built which will have shops underneath."
The town recently introduced parking metres in the shopping area which has many retailers lobbying against it in fear it will turn consumers away from shopping in the town.
"The parking metres have been in for 3 months. We [local retailers] are all fighting with them to drop it. Some people are starting to head elsewhere to smaller places that don't actually have parking metres."
Mensland stocks surfwear, dress wear and suits. Leading brands include O'Neill, Raw and Breakaway. Accessories such as wallets, socks, shoes and caps are also available.
LOCATION: 152km north west of Launceston.
POPULATION: 17,000.
STORES: Studio Girl and Mensland.
BRANDS: Mr K, Bardot, Fashion Babe, Popstar, Raw, Breakaway and O'Neill.