By Sonia Isaacs
SPEAKING with GC&M News, Tracey Hallink from Coast Imagewear said the huge growth of her business and subsequent need for larger premises were the key drivers in the recent relocation from Beerwah to Landsborough.
“We have grown so much over the last few years that we just needed more space to spread out for our bigger orders, and to be more efficient in our production. We’ve also been able to add some more embroidery and printing machines to speed up production,” she said.
One of the key aspects of the move involved the establishment of a much larger showroom. Ms Hallink said she found local customers still preferred to browse fabrics and items in person before placing orders, and a larger showroom would enhance service delivery and customer experience.
She said she had also recently made updates to the business website to offer a better online experience. Ms Hallink said some of the improvements to the website included greater capacity for customers to easily browse items and services online. She said with a growing national customer base, an accessible website was crucial.
Despite the expansion, Ms Hallink said she continued to be committed to serving both wholesale and retail customers, with the showroom remaining open to the public for off-the-rack purchases of workwear and PPE.
“Our opening hours remain the same as the Beerwah shop (8.30am to 4.30 pm, with an early closure at 2pm on Fridays), but there are plans to extend operating hours in the coming weeks,” she said.
Ms Hallink said she was extremely grateful for all the local support received over the last few years. “The shop local mentality in the Hinterland is well and truly alive and so very much appreciated,” Tracey said.
Ms Hallink welcomed all regulars and new customers to drop into their new premises at Unit 9/12 Kelly Court Landsborough. www.coastimagewear.com.au