Ragtrader regularly investigates how key shopping strips in regional Australia are faring. Here, Melinda Oliver looks at trade in the beachside town of Noosa.
Retailing in an arcade off Hastings Street for 16 years, Rhonda Bedford, the owner of Diana’s, is well accustomed to the peaks and lows of trade in the area. The women’s footwear boutique gets exceptionally busy during school holidays and summer, when tourists flock to the area for a beachside break. In contrast, extra-hot February means that sales slow down.
“Around 75 to 80 per cent of our customers are holiday makers,” she says. “It is the Australian tourist market, as the international visitors tend to go to bigger places like Cairns.”
Bedford says the crowds tend to be very relaxed and come into the store straight from the beach, wearing their bathers and bare feet. The store stocks European footwear labels with a comfort focus, such as Stuart Weitzman, Arche and Lorbac. Due to the warm tropical climate, Bedford keeps summer stock on the floor throughout the year, putting out winter boots for a very short run only.
“We are a small, 26 sqm store,” she says. “We have a warehouse about 10 minutes away so we can quickly go out and get replacement stock.”
Bedford says increasing rents on the street have seen it become more popular with chain stores, such as Witchery, Mimco, Rodd and Gunn, Just Jeans and Dotti.
“They are the ones that can afford it,” she says.
Youth Culture and Sandman area manager Jacqui Beerling has also observed this shift towards big brands, but thinks the variety on the street means there is something for all demographics.
The company has run its two Hastings Street stores for around 14 years and has recently introduced a greater mix of styles to ensure broader customer appeal. Labels in menswear store Sandman include G-Star, Scotch and Soda, Industrie, Elwood and Stussy. In Youth Culture, Mink Pink, Wish, Evil Twin and Ladakh are among the local names gracing the shelves.
“In Youth Culture we are taking it a bit more mature with the shoes,” she says. “That way we can also sell to mum.”
Beerling says the constant tourist flow means that the stores always have new customers and the stock and displays are always fresh to new eyes.
“People are on holidays so they are happy,” she says. “Our strongest growth category is in shoes. We do stock some winter product, but we keep it light.”
Caroline Forsyth of menswear store Beau Gentry says Hastings Street attracts an affluent market, so it is ideal to provide some upper end labels in the area. The store sells brands such as Paul & Shark, Navigare, Bagutta and Ganton.
The company has also run Brent’s Menswear on the street for around 25 years, but it is due to close either temporarily or permanently due to adjacent hotel renovations next year.
Forsyth says rents on the strip continually rise, making it a challenge for independents to retain a presence. She would like to see the street have more covered walkways as the area is often subject to heavy rain. “But that can take away from the natural look of the street,” she says.
Jan Grant of Isabella’s Fine and Antique Jewellery does not want to see anything change in the area, but hopes the boutiques can retain a foothold despite the high cost of rent. As one of the longest-standing stores, the family-run business hopes to stay around for years to come.
“It is understandable that the big brands come in, but there are only a few of us left,” she says. “I have no intention of stopping.”
Grant says repeat customers come back every year, including a number of famous regular customers, the names of which she keeps close to her chest.
Other stores on the street include high fashion independent Don’t Tell Mama, swimwear store Sea Elements, womenswear boutiques Bellissima and Toscani and childrenswear store Noosa Juniors.
In addition to fashion, the street has a large number of restaurants, ice cream stores and convenience stores such as newsagents. It is set behind a row of hotel accommodation which is directly on the beach front.
TCF Helpline
Q: What are some of the common mistakes emerging designers make when manufacturing offshore?
A: The emerging designer can sometimes be naïve, and take
massive business risks to follow their passion of creating their own product range. This can mean jumping into offshore contracts and production orders without following due diligence or fully understanding their business risk factors in a cash-poor, fast-moving and complex supply chain industry.
A few common mistakes include:
• placing large orders in developing countries without having a quality agent to check production against sample approved prior to shipment;
• jumping in and buying volumes of raw materials overseas without any ideas on how to freight it back and costs involved;
• making upfront payments to unauthorised agents or middlemen to organise production orders without researching the person
or business;
• believing what is written on the internet without any research undertaken on the background
of the firm;
• not having clear labelling/sizing/grading specification sheets – so
the product arrives with the wrong fit or wrong labels;
• having too many styles, with lots of variations making it confusing for production, resulting in errors.
Combined with the shortage of small run manufacturing facilities in Australia, many designers are sometimes forced offshore too early, before they are ready to expand production volumes.
There is a saying, ‘you are only as good as your last range’, and in this industry sector you have to manage to not only be creative, but to have a commercial eye for what will sell. In addition you need solid and practical business management skills.
This is where industry organisations such as TCFWA, TCF Australia and Belmont BEC combine together to provide support and guidance to designers. This includes specialist workshops in areas such as online development, mentoring and even professional accountants and lawyers who can provide advice to eligible businesses. Many services
are available free of charge.
Questions to the TCF Helpline are answered by TCF Australia, a non-profit industry organisation. For more, see www.tcfaustralia.com.