Shire businesses defy the tough times - and come out on top

"But, I think when you are in business you have to constantly evolve, and customers were asking for a place where they could come and touch and feel the garments," Ms Danby said.

"The move has paid off, helping Bamboo Body win the prestigious Business of the Year award, along with the Fashion category, in the Sutherland Shire Local Business Awards.

Bamboo Body is one of several award winners, who have shown business courage by either starting up or expanding during these tough economic conditions.

Others include Caringbah businesses Mavericks (fast food/takeaway), and Baked Collective (bakery/cake business), both of which opened in 2023, and Panetta Mercato Kirrawee (fresh food), which launched in 2022.

At the same time, many established businesses continued to shine, with a common theme in their comments about providing exceptional customer service.

Kirrawee Veterinary Hospital, which won the Pet Care category, is possibly the most decorated, having been nominated for a Local Business Award every year since 1998 and won the top award in 2012.

Bamboo Body's Elouise Danby said their clothing was "not fashion so much, but more your everyday basics".

"In times when people are more conscious about their spending, they are looking for products that are multi-purpose or that they can get a lot of wear out of," she said.

Ms Danby said they had an uplift in sales during the pandemic, but, since then, had been preparing for a downturn, and had focused on areas such as "getting our inventory right and making sure we are not over stocked. Also we have pulled in our product lines a little bit to focus more on our best sellers".

"We haven't increased our prices, and I think that's important," she said.

Ms Danby said there had been "peaks and troughs" with the shopfront on The Boulevarde at Kirrawee.

"We are a destination store - not in a shopping precinct, but a warehouse complex, so people don't necessarily stumble across us but find out about us in other ways.

"We have advertised a few times in the Leader and I have to say that has seen a lot more traffic coming through.

"It's not crazy busy, but we are happy with how it's gone so far."

Frank Tagg, a pioneer of the fast food industry in the shire with McDonald's, who with his wife Sally, opened Mavericks chicken and burgers restaurant at Caringbah station in 2023, said, "Its been tough for us, like it is for everyone out there, but we are grinding away, making progress every week and certainly seeing some sunlight."

Mr Tagg said one of the first things they had done after opening was to adjust their prices down as they got to understand their community better.

"Providing value in tough times has given us a huge boost," he said. "Once people try us out, they stay with us."

Panetta Mercato Kirrawee owner and operations director Jasmine Scali said, "Our quality is number one and with our price range we try to be the lowest we possibly can be".

"Our Kirrawee store not only has the greengrocer section for fruits and vegetables we also have a deli, a butcher, seafood and groceries."