What's Selling In: Five Dock, NSW

Sydney's inner western suburb of Five Dock has enjoyed a quiet revolution of late. According to local fashion retailers, there has been a small but steady growth in specialty boutiques along strips such as Great North Road and Ramsay Road. Sissa Boutique, which stocks a broad selection of European and Australian womenswear labels such as Leona Edmiston and Lisa Ho, is one existing player that's sat up and noticed the change.

"The good thing for me is that I'm generally positioned a little more upmarket," says owner Joanna Maratos, who took over the boutique some two years ago. "Everyone is doing something different - you have a couple that are fast fashion and a couple that target older women looking for functional daywear."

Stocking premium international labels such as Nolita, European Culture and Desigual, Maratos says the boutique was initially founded to draw in the community's large Italian population. "The ladies who started the business had the idea that a heavy European influence would draw in a certain kind of customer," Maratos says. "But this isn't necessarily the case - we get everyone from Australians to Italians. Our customers don't care about labels, they care about construction and quality."

Maratos says Australian labels which are manufactured offshore do not perform as well as their lesser known European counterparts. "My customers look for beautiful prints or unusual designs," she explains, adding that European labels are known for their immaculate cut and fit. "They're generally 30 years and older looking for something stylish and different."

Hotline Clothing, launched just over a month ago by Melissa Timmer, targets the opposite end of the market with labels such as Bardot, Ladakh, Lovely Girl and Sunny Girl. Timmer says she decided to target the Five Dock market because she felt there was "nothing around" for her core customer, aged between 18 to 50 and looking for trend-driven products.
Price points for garments range from $35 for a simple top to $150 for a pair of Bardot jeans.

"I'd like to open another store in around six months time [outside of] Five Dock," she says. "And I'd still like to be around here in 12 months time too."

Lowdown
Location: 10 km west of Sydney CBD
Population: 7,328
Stores: Sissa Boutique, Hotline Clothing
Brands: Nolita, Desigual, European Culture, Lisa Ho, Leona Edmiston, Bardot, Sunny Girl, Lovely Girl, Ladakh.

By Assia Benmedjdoub