An independent Maitland businessperson has called on people to support local businesses, after another locally owned store closed its doors.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Patrick Lane of Ken Lane Menswear made the statement after the Harvey’s Menswear closed last week, ending decades of operation in Maitland.
The closure of Harvey’s left Ken Lane as the only locally-owned menswear store in Maitland CBD.
“There’s one independent menswear store for 70,000 people… that’s ridiculous,” he said.
Mr Lane said the rise of multinational corporations over the past 10-15 years meant local businesses were struggling to stay alive.
He said it was hard for family businesses to keep up with advertising and exposure of larger companies.
The third generation business owner also said there were misconceptions about the affordability of chain retailers compared to smaller shops.
“It’s the conditioning of the consumer that they’ll get it cheaper elsewhere, but that’s not always true,” he said.
“We cannot compete if we don’t have the support of local people.
“They need to think about how their shopping behaviour impacts the business community of their area.”
Another reason Mr Lane said people should support local businesses was that local businesses support them.
He said they employed local people, gave to local charities and causes and customers could speak directly to the owner of the business.
The way Mr Lane said he had survived a tough economic climate was through adjusting his business towards the specific needs of his customers.
“If you’re an independent business owner, you’re going to be a specialised business,” he said. “They’re the businesses who are going to survive.”
“We’re not trying to do everything,” he said.
Mr Lane said he had to be very aware of what his customers wanted or else he would suffer.
‘We’re very attuned to what’s going on around us,” he said.
“I’ll be on the street if I get it wrong.”
Related content