Fashion is a tough business to be in but ‘it still fills my bucket’, says Albury CBD retailer Julie Zeinert who is celebrating a quarter of a century with her popular Zeinert & Co store in Dean Street. Photo: Supplied.
Julie Zeinert still gets “the biggest buzz” from seeing one of her bags walk down the street.
“It still fills my bucket,” says the Albury business owner who is celebrating an incredible quarter of a century in her popular women’s clothing store Zeinert & Co.
The Dean Street retailer says there’s nothing else she’d rather be doing but is also quick to acknowledge that fashion “is one of the hardest industries to be in”.
It’s the people who’ve kept her going through the inevitable highs and lows of running your own business – loyal customers, longstanding relationships built with wholesalers (and as a wholesaler herself), good staff and, of course, the support and love of her family.
She will share some of her insights into surviving – and thriving – in the often brutal world of business during an International Women’s Day event organised by Business Women Albury Wodonga on Friday 6 March.
It was 25 years ago that Julie also married the love of her life, Damain Zeinert … only to lose her mum six weeks later.
The devastating loss would prove the catalyst for Julie to take the plunge into starting a business of her own. Working for someone else at the time, she spotted a For Lease sign on a shop during her lunch break and rang her husband.
They threw together a plan on a piece of paper, presented it to the bank manager for a $30,000 loan and … well, the rest is history.
Julie filled the original shop with furniture and homewares but knew it “was time to evolve” when the market started catching up with her on-trend Indian, Chinese and Moroccan-style offerings.
After having their son, Darcy, Julie says her body shape changed and she struggled to find clothes that were both comfortable and stylish. “I started with two or three racks of clothing,” she recalls. “It just grew and grew from there, and really seemed to work for us.”
COVID would throw a curveball into the retail mix with a massive conversion to online shopping. But once again, Julie’s ability to change with the times kept her moving ahead of the crisis: “We went online long before COVID and that was probably one of our strengths,” she says.
“The demographic online changed from young women to older women working from home, while at the same time social media and marketing changed and if you weren’t going to go with it, you were going to get left behind – and that’s what happened to many retailers.”
At 58, Julie says she’s learnt that to keep up you’ve got to push yourself out of your comfort zone. She’s got a grasp on AI, a presence on social media and, by “keeping it real” online, her customers have followed her faithfully in new directions.
However, Julie believes nothing beats the touch and feel experience of walking into the shop – and the personal interaction she prides herself on.
She’s seen and supported countless local women through births, deaths and marriages (and everything in between). Hers, she says, is a customer service business.
“We have a huge and loyal following and that goes back to how you treat customers and being generous in your community,” explains Julie, who has again joined the Share The Dignity drive collecting donations of period products during March.
“I’ve learned that my customers are the most important thing in my business!”
She likes to think that women feel more akin to a family member when they walk in. After all, she’s seen many of them in sickness and in health.
“And there is no better feeling than helping a woman find a dress and walk out knowing they look and feel absolutely beautiful in it,” Julie says.
But this quietly spoken veteran of the clothing and fashion industry is under no illusion that the future for retail looks frighteningly uncertain.
“We’re watching hundreds and hundreds of stores across Australia close,” she says.
“The challenge is always how do we keep going and how do we keep people shopping locally in our community.”
There have been days when Julie wonders why on earth she’s stayed in the game so long. “Emotionally and physically it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she admits.
On those days, she truly cherishes the 45-minute drive back home to the sanctuary of the family farm at Mudgegonga in Victoria’s north-east.
“Driving up the driveway to see my beautiful family really keeps me going,” she says. “Damain and I are a really good team – we wouldn’t have survived otherwise. He gave up his career as a builder to help manage all the online and data entry logistics of the business; he tells me I’m amazing and builds me up and helps me get out of my down days.”
Still, Julie says she really can’t imagine doing anything else.
“I’m still just so passionate about what I do,” she declares. “If I wasn’t doing it for me, I’d be doing it for someone else!”
Zeinert & Co Clothing is located at 487 Dean Street, Albury. They’re open from 9 am to 5:30 pm Monday to Friday and from 9 am until 4 pm on Saturday. Keep up with them on Facebook or their website. Tickets for the event on Friday are unfortunately no longer available.
