Madame Pompidou

Byron Bay may be a slice of beachside heaven but it's far from a retailers' paradise. Melissa Gulbin learns why the sun still shines on Byron's label-queen Pompidou.

It's only with hindsight that Pompidou owner Julie Cluer realises what a risk she took when she opened her fashion-forward boutique in Byron Bay five years ago. "I knew nothing, absolutely nothing," emphasises the Byron local. "I didn't have any fashion or retail experience. The store came up for lease and I just thought I'd take a stab."

The learning curve, which Cluer describes as "vertical", was softened somewhat by the faith of a few key accounts in those early days. As a new store, Pompidou had the luxury of promising sought-after brands an exclusive environment among other upmarket labels. "I suppose I was lucky. I got Sass & Bide and Ksubi accounts at the start. In 2003 they were absolutely huge and nobody in the area stocked them." 

She admits that her blind ignorance was ultimately a good thing. "I probably wouldn't have done it had I known what I'd got myself into. It's been really tricky. If I only knew then what I know now." Luckily Pompidou's reputation among fashion agents grew quickly, explains Cluer, who made her initial contacts through the trade fair circuit.

It is a combination of luck, perseverance and a bit of blind faith that have driven the store's 75 per cent sales growth within five years. While Pompidou has faithful local business, it comes into its own with the booming summer tourist trade.

It took a while to get the mix of labels right says Cluer, whose initial vision of a "full-on fashion" boutique was eventually tweaked to better suit the unique tastes of the upmarket Byron Bay tourist.  "When you go to Bali you buy a sarong. When you go to Byron you buy something cool and relaxed like a beachy dress."

Among the labels which embody that sun-kissed Byron edge are Maurie and Eve, State of Georgia, Lover, Rare and Cheap Monday. "I stay clear of surfwear, because there are just so many surf stores doing it here." In a town like Byron Cluer doesn't have the luxury of catering for a specific type of person. "I have to offer something for everyone who walks past - every age, gender, budget, and size" - while still keeping with Pompidou's fashion-forward ethos.

The store is just off the main drag on Fletcher street, which benefits from the foot traffic en route to the Byron Bay lighthouse. "I have some really great neighbours. This part of town has become quite a hub over the past couple of years," she says.

While Byron Bay, with its stunning beaches and thriving bohemian culture, may be a magnet for tourists and well-heeled sea-changers, Cluer says it's far from a retailer's paradise. The seasonal nature of the beach town makes for serious cash flow problems. "I have to order summer stock and pay the 30-day accounts well before cash rolls in from the peak tourist season," says Cluer.

To make matters worse, Byron hits it peak just after Christmas when David Jones does its big discounting. "A lot of our customers are tourists from Gold Coast, Brisbane and Sydney, who can buy at the sales." To bolster sales during the slow months, Cluer has started selling online at pomidou.com.au. "It's something I only started about five months ago and want to focus more on in the future," says Cluer, who sees potential in maintaining loyalty from her tourist trade. "We can now offer customers the Pompidou experience well after their holiday."

While still in the throes of fine-tuning her online offering, Cluer uses Google Adwords to attract users to the website and keeps her customers informed of special offers through email newsletters. Key to her online vision is superior customer service - you can call the Pompidou girls and ask for them to try on an item, send a photo, and get their opinion on size and fit. "That's the advantage we have over the larger, faceless online retailers," Cluer says.

Pompidou is blessed by the loyalty of a few full-time staff, supported by transient backpackers and students over the busy summer months. "My full-timers left to have babies and then returned. I'm lucky to have that loyalty. We have a saying around here that if you get a full-time job at Pompidou you'll soon get pregnant," jokes Cluer.

When hiring, Cluer looks for experience and work ethic coupled with a relaxed, warm personality that personifies the Byron spirit. "It's important to get someone who has shown they can stick to a job for more than a few months. In Byron, there are a lot of people who are, well ... cruising."

By Melissa Gulbin