A MANDURAH business owner is urging shoppers to support local small businesses before more are forced to close their doors.
Hocus Pocus Costumes, Corsets, Characters owner Jody Newton, who on July 4 celebrated 10 years at the helm of the Pinjarra Road store, took to Facebook this week to share her frustration at the number of people turning their backs on bricks-and-mortar stores in favour of online shopping.
“I really feel sorry for the next generation, they all believe buying on line (sic) is the way to go. Well it’s not! You are closing doors on people,” she wrote.
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READ NOW“Don’t leave our local family own businesses as fall back shops and get off your butts and support local.”
Citing an increase in internet sales, commercial property rents and overheads as the biggest threats to small business, she said she was saddened at the number of owners who felt they had no other option but to shut up shop, especially given the effort many put in to staying afloat.
“Some of my very good friends are struggling, if not passed the struggle and given up,” she said.
“We work hard in small business, it’s not a matter of finishing at 5pm and going home to play tiddlywinks, so much goes on behind the scenes.
“We’re always brainstorming, thinking of the next way to build or keep up with ongoing trends. It’s hard work.”
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Mandurah Hobby Shack owner Mark Kelly had to make the hard decision to close down for good on June 28.
“It’s my life. For the last three years it is all that I have had,” he said.
“The economy has slowed down drastically and online shopping, we cannot match their prices at all.”
Ms Newton said it was important for the community to realise that if they didn’t support local businesses there wouldn’t be any left.
“My hope is to get people to step out of the box, have a look at some of the small businesses we have in the area, know what’s in our town,” she said.
“The amount of people that say ‘oh I didn’t even know you were here’, I have been in this new shop nearly three years and I still have people saying that weekly.”