Mollie Purbrick has been selling vintage fashion since she was 14 years old, so opening a bricks-and-mortar store in her regional Victorian hometown of Castlemaine never felt like a huge plunge.
Now in her 30s, Ms Purbrick flung the doors open on her vintage clothing store, named Maud, in August, bucking a national trend towards insolvency for small businesses.
She is quietly confident her store is in it for the long haul.
“I think in business you have to get used to things taking their time,” Ms Purbrick said.
“But I have a clear vision … on how things are going to look and feel.”
Priya Cox from Warm was a regular buyer of vintage clothes herself before starting to sell fashion herself. (ABC Central Victoria: Philippe Perez)
Just a few doors down from Maud is another vintage clothing shop, Warm, run by Priya Cox and her partner Dylan Wiehahn.
Ms Cox said paying rent and other overheads of a bricks-and-mortar shop is worth the risk.
“I think it’s just a better experience [for the customer] with less of a buyer’s remorse,” she said.
Priya Cox studied fashion design but says she quickly became disillusioned by overproduction in the industry. (ABC Central Victoria: Philippe Perez)
Bucking the trend
The successes enjoyed by the likes of these stores run against the national trend
The National Retail Association’s special advisor Trevor Evans said spending is down across multiple retail markets.
And small businesses are bearing the brunt of it.
“There is no doubt that at this point in time … insolvencies amongst retailers and insolvencies amongst small business retailers are up in comparison to previous years,” Mr Evans said.
A number of retail stores in and around Bendigo’s Hargreaves Mall are sitting empty and looking for businesses to lease them out. (ABC Central Victoria: Philippe Perez)
The number of small businesses that entered administration increased by 44 per cent last financial year, according to Australian Securities and Investment Commission data.
Mr Evans said the cost-of-living crisis is impacting spending.
“Retailers themselves have relatively low confidence because they are the first in line to see the reduced discretionary spending when everyday Australians are tightening their wallets,” he said.
Mollie Purbrick says customers are looking for clothes that both express creativity and last a long time. (ABC Central Victoria: Philippe Perez)
Clothing as a tourist attraction
It is not just vintage fashion aficionados who are taking the risk of opening up retail outlets.
Husband and wife pairing Ash and Fiona McKnight have opened two western fashion stores in Maldon, 17 kilometres north-west of Castlemaine, since November.
Mr McKnight, a farrier by trade with no experience in retail, said the first shop was inspired by a trip to Texas.
Maldon’s Ash McKnight says community enthusiasm for what he offers at his store keeps him confident for the future. (ABC Central Victoria: Philippe Perez)
“We believe in good quality and in a hat culture where products last a lifetime,” he said.
“We have followers not only within the town but from outside the town who then also come back and are repeat customers.”
Nina Gbor says “people are getting tired of fast fashion”. (Supplied: Nina Gbor)
Other communities across Australia are benefiting from “fashion tourists”.
The Australia Institute’s circular economy and waste program director Nina Gbor said she is “100 million thousand per cent” behind small stores with sustainable focuses.
“People want a more personalised service and people are getting tired of fast fashion,” she said.
Ms Gbor said people are travelling to regions like Castlemaine especially for vintage fashion.
A risk worth taking
The retail sector’s Trevor Evans said prospective business owners should take heed of innovative success stories, like those in Central Victoria.
“Rather than just competing on price … against large discount department stores or online competitors, if you can do something to your store that’s more about services, more about surprising and delighting local people, then that’s going to set you up,” he said.
It is a message that Ana Kay and Wills van der Vliet take to heart.
The pair opened their vintage clothing store in Castlemaine in May, joining the bevy of vintage stores in the town.
Wills van der Vliet and Ana Kay believe Castlemaine residents’ creativity has played a big part in the rise of local vintage fashion. (ABC Central Victoria: Philippe Perez)
They admit that opening a new business in a retail slump is a risk.
But Ms Kay said her generation appreciates the quality of vintage clothes, which gives her confidence about her business’ future.
“It just made sense to give all these beautiful pieces new life,” she said.
And for Mr van der Vliet, the rewards come not only from the sharing of vintage fashion, but the experience of a small-scale store.
“It feels personal,” he said.
“You know when you walk into a business and the business owner is standing in the shop, you can tell instantly.
“And when you see people coming through [your store] and enjoying it, it’s nice.”
