What's Selling

Spreyton, Tasmania
When asked to describe the satellite town of Spreyton, Tasmania, local resident Rebecca Herman gets straight to the point.
"It's not very big. It's basically one main road."
But as is the case with most small communities, what Spreyton lacks in size, it makes up for in personality. An area rich in tight-knit families and long-time residents, it boasts a variety of old-world charms like The Figure of Eight Creek which flows throughout the town.

Herman, a sales assistant at Dadydaycare clothing on Mersey Main Road, is quick to spruik its benefits.
"Everyone's really friendly around here," she says. "It's mainly a residential and industrial place but because of the main road, we get a lot of customers drop by when they drive past."

Because of the large presence of families in the area, Herman also says there is a great demand for childrenswear. A perk for a business which specialises in products and accessories for infants and toddlers.
"There's no one like us around here because we sell Australian products as well as a few things from overseas. My boss started it because a lot Of the stuff that she couldn't find for children in stores, she sells here."
This includes everything from nappies, shoes, clothing, toys, books and DVD's. Top footwear and apparel labels include Red Booty shoes, Spud Kids and Spud Babies and Eternal Kids and Eternal Babies - most of which are not available in the major city of Devonport.

"It's good because people don't have to go far to buy good children's products," Herman says. A lot of new parents are interested in our shop and we get people coming in for baby showers, birthdays or just to look around."
While strong support from local families is a bonus for stores specialising in childrenswear, it can be a burden for those branching out into other categories. Owner of Fashion Clothing Outlet Sharon Holman says her recent venture into menswear proved quite the challenge.

"Men are horrible," she quips. "They're worse than women. When I first started selling men's clothes, a lot of blokes around here said the styles were too 'poofy'."
Of course, she explains, this hasn't detracted from the success of her main kidswear and womenswear brands. Stocking lower to middle market brands such as Off The Wall, Cherry Lane, Sass and Bubblegum, Holman says her best sellers are those situated within more competitive price brackets.
"We want to offer something affordable and we do everything from the cheaper end of the market to middle of the range. Everyone can go to Kmart or Target for good prices but we want to have good brands and good prices too."

Lowdown
Location: 99km from Launceston
Stores:Dadydaycare, Fashion Clothing Outlet
Brands:Sass, Red Booty Shoes, Cherry Lane, Eternal Babies, Bubblegum.