Jeweller - June 2021

OPINION
Soapbox
The unexpected challenges of running
a business in rural Australia
ROBYN SPARKE turns the focus towards jewellery retail in regional and rural areas,
where population demographics impact businesses very differently than in major cities.
In our regional jewellery business,
Stephen Sparke Jewellers, one of the
most significant challenges we readily
face is that of diversification. Our business
consists of two store locations in rural
areas – one in the Queensland border
town of Goondiwindi, and the other in
Moree, in northwest NSW.
There is approximately 126km between
the locations; but despite this relatively
limited distance, and the fact that they
have roughly the same population size,
they are very different – both in terms
of the demographics and the customer
product choice.
However, as they are both regional towns,
they share similar challenges.
Moree and Goondiwindi have a ‘transient’
population; professionals in the police
force, education departments, employment
agencies, and medical and legal fields
frequently choosing to work in our
rural region for the purpose of acquiring
special contracts or government
stimulus packages.
Once these contracts have been fulfilled,
they then leave the community to further
their careers on the east coast.
This makes the acquisition of staff and
provision of career planning in our
business challenging.
The transient population provides us with
choice and diversity in our employees.
It also hinders investment in upskilling,
training staff and future career progression
in the business, as all of these are impeded
by the length of time individuals can commit
to employment when they – and/or their
partners – are climbing the career ladder.
At the same time, we encourage our local
youth to aspire to, and attain, qualifications,
which sees them leave the community for
secondary and higher education – either
boarding school or university.
Accordingly, our junior staff often leave
just after we have them trained and skilled
in customer service, product knowledge
and point of sale.
This transition to further education also
sees parents frequently visiting their
children and therefore making jewellery
purchases outside the district, in larger
metropolitan areas.
As a result of these factors, the majority
of our staff are in the semi-retired age
group with aspirations of slowing down and
spending time with grandchildren.
They have limited intention to further
progress in the jewellery industry or seek
roles in areas of management, marketing
or production, which could provide further
value to our business.
Despite this, our staff are our ‘business
family’ who are extremely loyal, proud and
hardworking and value their employment in
our small country communities.
The last three years have also seen us
employ one of our young staff members
under the Supported Wage Scheme, which
has proven to be extremely successful.
This scheme sees the employee’s wage
partially paid by the government based on
a regular productivity assessment.
The National Inland Rail Project has
attracted more people to our region, adding
to the diversity of the local population and
bringing the potential of more customers –
however, it has not delivered more potential
employees for our business.
Local employers cannot compete with
We encourage
our local youth
to aspire to,
and attain,
qualifications,
which sees
them leave the
community
for secondary
and higher
education...
Accordingly,
our junior staff
often leave just
after we have
them trained
and skilled
government wages and once again,
this development is short term with the
intended project to be completed within
three years.
While as a community we revel in this
current economic and employment
injection, it too may be unsustainable once
infrastructure has been established and
a local workforce is no longer required.
With such diversity and transience in
the population, purchasing of stock can
be challenging – especially ‘on-trend’
products. It usually takes some time for
customers to recognise that we sell
these products, despite social media
and marketing promotions!
This is likened to the real-estate market,
where the ‘wave’ of demand hits the
east coast first and it can take up to
six months before an impact is noticed
in the rural areas.
It would be lovely to focus on a niche
market or reposition as a boutique store;
however, with these challenges and
diversities we need to ensure that we can
supply and service a wide customer base.
Like any regional or rural business, we
must also provide competitive exclusivity
for the out-of-town shoppers who view
cities such as Sydney or Brisbane as
their go-to shopping destination, while
making sure that we are providing a
price point that is suitable for our local
customers – especially in competition
with online purchases.
Name: Robyn Sparke
Business: Stephen Sparke Jewellers
Position: Co-owner
Location: Goondiwindi, QLD; Moree, NSW
Years in the industry: 15
years,collectively with my husband
72 | June 2021