17 minute read
Member Insights
from UPfront EOFY21
Michelle Clarke
Retail Manager JUDDS YARRAWONGA
YARRAWONGA, NSW
Judds Yarrawonga
My retail journey began over 25 years ago on my 18th birthday when the Judd family offered me a full time position in their menswear store. I had deferred from an arts course and had loved design and sewing in school. Working in retail seemed like a good fit. Over my years with Judds Wangaratta I was lucky enough to work in an open and transparent environment which allowed me to learn all aspects of the business. Over the next 10 years I worked in menswear, womenswear and helped to establish their workwear, uniform and embroidery business. I really valued the opportunities to learn and my passion for business was ignited. I loved retail, from the buying phase, to merchandising and displays and serving my customers. While I thoroughly enjoyed the creative side of retail and still do, it’s my happy place, I loved the thrill of buying right and selling hard.
15 years ago my husband and I were keen to buy a business of our own. While I was the “nervous nelly” he was the one who had faith and gave me the push needed to step out and give it go. Together with Nick & Mary Ann Judd we bought into a well established, long standing Mensland business in Yarrawonga. It had really great bones and I was excited by this new challenge. Over the next 3 months I got to know the area, the customers and the demographics of my new audience. It was a good business and I was keen to understand what consumers wanted and needed. Although Yarrawonga was only 50kms from Wangaratta the demographics were very different. This was my first real lesson in business. Know your demographics and your target audience.
Yarrawonga is a small rural town set on the banks of the beautiful Lake Mulwala. With a population of around 10,000 that expands to nearly 30,000 in the peak summer tourist season. The area is famous for it’s water sports, golf and relaxed environment. Being a tourist town does exclude us from many of the challenges that come with operating a business in a small country town. For 9 months of the year we have a new audience, relaxed consumers on holidays, with the time to wander and spend and a very full calendar of tourist events to keep us busy.
Over the past 15 years I have grown the business to now include womens and children’s wear, workwear, uniforms, embroidery and printing. We are the typical country style department store keen to showcase current trends, a mix of popular brands and “added margin’ product with a real focus on customer service and repeat business.
How things have changed from the “good old days” of retail, to the now noisy, crowded and challenging environment facing all small business! Consumers can buy from various platforms, from various countries and standing out in the crowd can be harder than ever before. The daily tasks and knowledge required to keep up can be overwhelming. I have learned to surround myself with people who have the expert knowledge in their field. Find a team that fits with you.
I found working with an accountant was very reactive and not pro-active. Being told 6-12 months after your financials were logged was deflating and delayed any opportunity for change. I found a bookkeeper who better explained the numbers and could work more closely for change. He is now a valuable member of my team and someone I work with weekly.
I have a saying on display in my offices ….. I never lose, I either win or learn. I apply this to all the challenges I face. Over a year ago I was surprised to learn that one of my biggest selling mature womenswear brands was no longer wholesaling. I had been selling this brand for over 10 years and had valuable repeat business. My initial reaction was panic. How was I going to fill this large substantial space? I reached out to a few suppliers covering this demographic and quickly realised there was a few retailers also in the same situation. Working together with the suppliers we were able to fill the best selling lines at increased margins and new opportunities were created. These suppliers were also willing too invest in marketing opportunities to grow their brands in our store too. In my initial panic, I went to the numbers. I utilised the data from my POS system and realised that although this brand was a consistent seller the margins were not that great. I was not making the money I thought I was. Over the next year or so we worked hard to move our customers into other product and our mature womens business continued to grow.
Social media and marketing is now more important than ever. The days of putting an ad in the paper or radio no longer connects with my audience. Understanding your demographics and connecting with your audience is vital. I joined a local business hub, I found my business tribe. This group allows me to set goals, be accountable, to share highlights ( champagne moments ) and the road blocks. Many businesses in this group face similar challenges, it’s a trustworthy environment to share and learn. During COVID, this group was my lifeline. We shared valuable business and grant information and supported each other though the many challenges. Find
your business tribe and don’t go at
it alone. Our business group is lead by the talented and local Jenn Donovan from Social Media and Marketing Australia. She is an amazing leader in all things social media, marketing and small business.
With a team of eight women of varied ages learning to communicate and delegate has been vital. I have worked with a leadership development coach to better understand personalities and
improve my skills of listening and communication. This has allowed me to not only work in my business but on my business. My team reflects our values and have a clear understanding of our expectations and responsibilities. Is the road always smooth,? Definitely not, life is complicated and grey but I’ve learned the value of courageous conversations and communication. It’s been valuable to learn the importance of self care and how to manage the habits of high performing people and business owners …… Let’s just say I still have a lot to learn.
Being a part of buying group like Frontline provides many opportunities to connect with suppliers, access to group buying rates and experts in our industry. I absolutely appreciate the challenges of time, there are never enough hours in the day, but take some time to utilise the buying group. As a business located 3.5 hours from Melbourne I find the buying fairs a much more effective use of my time. I can access many Suppliers in a short space of time. I feel the days of the fair may be numbered if we do not support the Suppliers and the Frontline Buying Group. The fairs showcase the upcoming trends and is a great opportunity to catch up with like minded business owners. Often the challenges you face are also being faced by others in our industry. Connecting with fellow retailers can offer solutions to these challenges. If I’m searching for specific products or new categories I always reach out to Frontline for advise of who to follow up.
Many suppliers are now vertical operators and not only wholesale but retail in the online space and in bricks and mortar. This has created many challenges in my business. Brands I have supported and created loyalty within my business are now competitors. I believe this will continue to create challenges as many suppliers need to be successful in all channels to survive. I made a commitment in my business to be on the front foot with these brands. I subscribe to their webstore as a consumer and receive their marketing emails. If a supplier is continually discounting I look to move away from their brands and I also reach out for a discount or FREE product so I can provide a similar offer to my clients. In the retail world where consumers are trained to never pay full price while the cost of operation for small business continues to rise makes it very difficult to see a profit. Value adding or “Gift with purchase” is a real winner in my store. Especially with my workwear suppliers where the margins can be finer than in fashion. Other suppliers have offered discounts on bulk purchases or increased discounts for shorter trading terms. I also make it very clear to my suppliers that I will not support brands who continually discount on new or current seasons stock. Being aware of their promotions makes it easier to call out the continual discounting. I now use brands as the drawcard and mix in imported, higher margin product to increase my overall margins. You can utilise much of what you see on their website for your own marketing.
I find the importance of merchandising and co-ordinate ranges to increase the average spend for each sale is vital. I had a professional merchandiser walk through my store and his expertise in increasing the dollar spend and bundling was incredibly valuable. The amount of information on the web makes it easier than ever to find ideas for window and instore displays. Another winner for us is events. About 5 years ago I started with a Christmas VIP event. I purchased discounted products for giveaways and reached out to suppliers for lucky door prizes, put on some food and drinks and added plenty of Christmas cheer. This event has now grown to include over 12 local businesses in our main street area, some of these are my competitors but I found that as a combined group we could entice our community to come and shop local. It was then up to me to stand out from the crowd and ensure I captured the sales. With many of the stores having a database we could also market to a much wider audience. All these businesses donate an item to a major hamper giveaway which is a well sought after prize at Christmas. This concept has grown to now include a local Black
Friday event where we introduced a VIP event the night before. I have turned this event into my annual “Suit Sale”, where once again, it’s about buying stock at a reduced rate from suppliers, throwing in a free gift of a tie and sock pack and conveniently offering a full alteration service all after hours. We have trialled other events and are always keen to try out something new. Not all of them are successful but I always learn something and the extra effort is well worth it.
Covid19….I didn’t see that coming! My initial reaction of tears and fears for losing all of what I had worked for was overwhelming. Telling my long standing employees that I couldn’t keep them employed was heartbreaking for everyone. But my stubbornness for not giving in and the support of my husband and business tribe kept me going back day after day. In regional Victoria we were allowed a few more freedoms than our metro colleagues, although very aware of the impact it would have to our tourist trade. Having a mixed business allowed us to quickly shift into “Cosy & Comfy” and “Workwear Essentials”. The lockdown came just before our biggest tourist trade season of Easter. That meant for us being completely overstocked with no tourists. I quickly reached out to suppliers and agreed to cancel stock service product orders but accept most indents, with extended trading terms. I was keen to support my suppliers knowing that without them a recovery was going to be more difficult. Many suppliers were super accomodating while others made it more challenging. Let’s just say in a time of crisis you quickly learn who you want to be in business with. We didn’t have a website to fall back on so for me it was about being consistent, being open (when allowed) and doing what I could on social media to stay connected to our community. As a workwear supplier supporting the front line we were allowed to open. So we flipped our store to showcase workwear and leisurewear. I bought more relevant stock and we clawed our way back. Job keeper was introduced and the security of wages meant we could bring back our staff and focus on what we could do. The 25-50km travel limit also allowed us to showcase what we do well to our local community. We knew we needed to impress our community, wow new customers and ensure repeat business. This was an amazing opportunity and set us up financially for future challenges. We have been lucky enough to capture busy tourist trade outside of lockdowns as people were keen to travel locally. I truly value the regional to regional tourist trade that has kept us going through the metro lockdowns too. My thoughts go out to the suppliers who will continue to battle as many of us retailers are overstocked and clearing lines from 2020. I choose to not focus on what I can’t do but develop any opportunity within the boundaries. My fear moving forward is continued lockdowns with no government assistance. Our town and our economy relies on tourists and with continued cancelled events and consumer confidence falling I will once again need to dig deep to hold on until our country reaches herd immunity and we all move forward to a “COVID normal” life again. Many of the changes I have made in my business during this time I will continue with. I am incredibly grateful for all I have learned and look forward to what’s next.
Thank you to Frontline for the opportunity to be involved with their publication. It’s been interesting and rewarding to look back on my retail journey, consider all I have learned, reminisce on all the wonderful people I have met and worked with and the personal growth of my leadership.
Michelle Clark | JUDDS YARRAWONGA
Sleep Doctor Fyshwick & Batemans Bay
The Sleep Doctor Group formed in 1989 with originally 5 independent Bedding and Furniture retailers and over time has become a Co-Operative. Frontline has been a big help to the Sleep Doctor Group since joining in 2007. Frontline provides many different services to the Sleep Doctor Group, from collecting and distributing supplier rebates, branding, marketing, even co-ordinating group meetings. It allows the group to focus on retailing.
Sleep Doctor’s Chairman of the last 5 years, Roger Cheetham, began his retail career at Triffett’s Furniture in 1979. “We sold everything” Roger remembers. In 1983 Triffett’s opened mattress and bedroom store, which Roger managed for the next 7 years. In 1990 Roger was approached to work at Sleep Doctor Fyshwick and after 11 successful years there, Roger and wife, Jenny, purchased the store.
In 2015 an opportunity to purchase the Sleep Doctor Batemans Bay store came up, as the owner was retiring. “We bought the store and then just last year opened another Sleep Doctor Store on the Gold Coast at Bundall, which our son Luke is running” says Roger. “It has been a challenge time through Covid-19, but our stores have fared very well. Jen and I were unable to get up to Bundall and help Luke set up the store due to the border closures, but Luke did an amazing job and was able to open on time”.
Keeping ahead of retail trends is constant. While travelling to the Las Vegas Furniture Show a couple of years ago, they brought back the idea of creating a designated adjustable bed area within each store. The Sleep Doctor Group were the first group in Australia to introduce an adjustable bed gallery. “The main goal is to create a relaxed environment with great products, service and advice for our customers. This is what makes Sleep Doctor successful”.
Roger quotes, “The biggest challenge in retail is having good and reliable staff. We are very lucky with our team at all three of our stores. One of our staff members at Fyshwick has worked with me for over 35 years and our team at our Batemans Bay store has remained unchanged for over 10 years. I am very proud of the service our staff offer our customers - that’s what keeps our customers coming back. If you work hard and look after your staff, you will have a successful business.”
“The last 18 months have been difficult. Our Batemans Bay store was closed for a period with the bushfires. Whilst another business premises in our street was burnt to the ground, our store only suffered smoke damage. We decided to help the local community by giving away queen and king size mattresses to those who had lost everything, 34 in total. We also donated $100 from every mattress sale for the month of March from our Fyshwick store sales as well as Batemans Bay”. The town has recovered quite well since then.
The partnership with Frontline has been a very happy one. “The Frontline staff we deal with are fantastic and nothing is too much trouble. When Covid-19 hit us, we didn’t know if we would be open or closed but having piece of mind that Frontline was behind us, providing necessary retail information and support, gave us a level of comfort. Also knowing that our suppliers would be looked after was a great benefit”.
Luke, Jenny & Roger Cheetham.
ROGER CHEETHAM
Business Owner SLEEP DOCTOR
Fyshwick & Batemans Bay
Taylors Home Centre Castlemaine VIC
Long-time Frontline Member since 1987, Taylors Home Centre in Castlemaine is celebrating 40 years serving the local community. Originally starting as a drapery shop in 1856, and operated by various owners over the years, the successful local business was purchased by Robin and Nancy Taylor in 1981. Four decades later the business is now owned and operated by the couple’s daughter Julie and husband Shane Tunn. Looking for opportunities to service the community, the Taylors decided that what was really lacking in Castlemaine was a comprehensive custom curtain and blind furnishing service and renamed the business Castlemaine Furniture and Curtain Centre. Then as the drapery side of the business grew, Taylors dedicated further space to their custom window furnishings and renamed the business ‘Taylors Home Centre’. They later expanded into the neighbouring former Will Blundell Boots building, doubling their floor space and allowing them to expand their range into Manchester – towels, doonas etc and later giftware and homewares. Respectful of the building’s heritage, the couple painstakingly restored the front of the building, accentuating the existing glass frontage, repainting the façade in heritage cream colouring (thanks to the support of council) and replacing the former lacework on the verandah. Julie joined her parents working in the business in the late 80s/ early 90s ordering giftware for the store and when her parents were ready to retire in 2008, it was a natural progression for Julie and her husband Shane to take on the business and continue the family tradition. Today Taylors Home Centre continues to be synonymous with top quality curtains and blinds, Manchester, gifts and homewares and friendly, local service. “We have now been serving three generations of local community members.” Robin said that running a successful local business is not necessarily about being the cheapest. “What people are after is a great product and friendly, local service - people that they know and trust and will go that extra mile to help them find what they are after. “Everything has become very specialist these days and there are not many businesses left where you can find different offerings under the one roof. We are unique like that,” he said. Julie is always striving to source the latest products to ensure our customers have a beautiful range to choose from and our custom-made window covering service is still thriving today. “COVID and the various lockdowns have been extremely tough on local business but we are grateful to the local community for their ongoing support,” she said. COVID hasn’t changed how we operate, other than extra cleaning - the benefit of being regional. The store’s range has changed over the years with current trends dictated to us by our customers. The number one key in retail: “listen to the consumer”. One major change for us is how we advertise, not just on TV or radio. We now use social media as well to keep up with an ever- changing market. We have just used Frontline to help us set up our new exciting website, which is ready to launch. “I couldn’t have done it on my own. The expertise from Alex was unmeasurable!” Frontline has been a big part of our business from the beginning, providing us with vital access to a huge range of products and services and great team support. We look forward to sharing the next 40 years ahead with Frontline!
