Jessica Power talks to legendary retailer Robby Ingham about his next project - the revival of Paddington.
Can you walk me through your journey in independent retail over the years?
When I opened my first store in 1983, there were almost no import brands available due to the very high duties.
Also, overseas travel was expensive and much more time consuming.
One of my first trips took over 32 hours with around five to six stopovers – very different from today’s single stopover flights.
There was also a very large local manufacturing business with most buildings in Surry Hills and the surrounding suburbs being filled with clothing manufacturers.
It was nothing to walk into a factory and see 200 machinists working away.
My first store opened on March 7, 1983 which was two days after Bob Hawke became Prime Minister.
The new government devalued the then regulated dollar by 10% which of course made all my imports 10% more.
In the next couple of years, they floated the dollar and it went from being 1.10 to one US dollar to around 70 cents in the space of a year. This had an incredible impact on my growing import business.
So I decided to start manufacturing my own brand using high-end European fabrics and local manufacturers. This went very well until the 1990 recession hit and my stockists went from around 20 to a handful.
Of course, this could not sustain a wholesale brand, so in 1992 I made the decision to reinvent the business and start doing only import brands.
At this time, brands were much smaller and you would often deal with the principals when attending trade shows or show rooms. I remember talking with Paul Smith on his stand at a trade show and also seeing Giorigo Armani doing his windows in Milan.
The creator of Mulberry, Roger Saul was also always at trade shows and its main business was belts and satchels.
These were all made by artisan leather workers in Bath where the company was based.
I remember spending days searching through phone books at the Florence or Milan post office looking for brands I had seen in local stores and going back to the hotel and asking the concierge to call them to make an appointment, then setting off on the train into the Italian country side in search of something new and exciting.
As opposed to home, often these small towns would only have one or two businesses and often the main business would be the brand I was dealing with.
You would be introduced to three generations of families all working on the factory floor.
As time went on and brands became bigger things changed. Now spreadsheets and business degrees are the norm.
This is the same for most businesses but as an old dinosaur I much prefer the excitement of finding something unseen and exclusive.
What are some of the biggest challenges independents are currently facing?
As the industry leaders such as LVMH, Kering and Richemont get bigger and buy up more brands and fast fashion such as Zara and H&M get bigger and bigger, it will be more difficult for independents to create a financially viable business.
But I also know that independents will always exist and be the breeding ground for creative and talented people.
Globalisation will bring its challenges but will also show the advantage of being independent and able to change direction instantly as opposed to the large and cumbersome conglomerates who will be having numerous conference calls and studying spreadsheets while the customer moves on.
There will be new ways of doing things but one thing remains.
The true fashion customer wants new and exciting things before the market sees them. That is the challenge for independents.
Can you elaborate on your new role as Paddington Business Partnership co-president?
After being a major player in the rise of Paddington in the 80s and 90s, I saw first hand the very quick change when Westfield Bondi Junction opened in 2004.
As opposed to shopping centres that have very large leasing and marketing budgets and also the huge advantage of one landlord, shopping strips like Paddington have numerous landlords and no marketing budget.
As co-president of the Paddington Business Partnership, I am trying to develop a long term strategy to keep Paddington in people's minds.
Firstly we have established a solid Facebook and Instagram presence.
We are also developing a new website. All of this is done under the Visit Paddington brand.
We are then working on events in the different precincts with the local businesses and traders. This we hope will create that local community feel that shopping centres just cannot have.
Will this involve building strategic relationships with designers, boutiques government bodies?
Yes, it will require building on the strong foundations that Paddington already has and bringing the young and innovative businesses back to the area, but also highlighting all the great things that are still there.
Where do you see independent retail in five years from now?
I think independent retail will start to become more artisan and bespoke.
I think the internet and social media will play an enormous role in the future but it will also be its own worst enemy.
Speed to market is wonderful but I think we all need to sit back and enjoy what we buy not look for the next thing before the other has arrived.
I always used to laugh when people would come in and explain that they purchased these great trousers from me five years ago and they are now worn out and they wanted a replacement pair.
But maybe this is what people will start to want. But to be totally honest no one knows were retail will be in five years.
The real question is where will it be in 10 years when the first real internet generation are shaping things and making the big decisions?