Businesses brush off the economic fallout

MAIN Street in Osborne Park is a real place with a range of small businesses servicing Western Australian consumers and enterprises.

Unlike the theoretical main street in the US, and its cousin, the high street in the UK, the local version has not been clobbered by the global downturn.

Businesses on Main Street that responded to WA Business News’ inquiries about the economy had, in general, experienced some buffeting but there was little indication that their operations had been threatened.

While sales were moderately affected in some cases, the real impact of the past year’s crisis had been increases in costs and a slight improvement in the labour market.

While admitting he and his clients are wary of what could be around the corner, such as high interest rates and unemployment, Frank Cullura & Associates director Frank Cullura said it was business as usual for his four-person accounting and financial planning firm.

“In our industry, we’ve been doing quite well. I think that is because of the nature of our industry. Most people’s compliance requirements are still there,” Mr Cullura said.

“We haven’t seen any major signs of the downturn, but this could be because we’ve got a lot of business in the construction industry and there is always a lag there.

“But one thing we have had to be mindful of and careful with is our fees, because some of our clients have been affected.”

Sportswear Services owner Greg Kent also felt that his six-person business, which has supplied clothing to sporting clubs and corporate clients for 20 years, was in a sector that did not directly feel the impact of big changes in the economy. In fact, things were quite positive, he said.

“We have not been busier than in the past three months,” Mr Kent said. “(And) prior to that it was pretty good.”

Mr Kent said that as an importer the rising dollar did hurt his business but he also noted that other inputs had become more expensive, in contrast to what would be expected in economically troubled times.

Directly across Main Street from Sportswear Services is Rick Gill’s sprawling motorcycle showrooms, a business established in 1976.

Mr Gill believes the effect of the downturn on his business has been mild and resulted from consumer confidence being spooked by media reports of economic gloom.

He noted the biggest change was in the labour market, where the balance had shifted back to the employer after a period where applicants were literally interviewing him for a job.

However, Mr Gill doesn’t believe the quality of candidates has improved.

“The people getting put off are unemployable anyway,” he said.

As for the future, Mr Gill doesn’t believe in forecasting.

“One thing about being in business for yourself is never trying to anticipate or assume,” he said.

“Play it as it is and be prepared for anything.

“You have to keep on doing what you know is right and what has worked in the past.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by former carpenter Bruno Petrillo, who established residential building company Contour Projects in 2005.

Mr Petrillo said Contour had a pipeline of work and was still getting new contracts, though he had noticed some potential clients had found obtaining finance harder. He had also noticed that costs had risen, though some suppliers were more prepared to negotiate on those.

“For the average person this has been an excellent thing because it has brought things back into perspective,” he said.