Emporium Bellingen is situated on the ground floor of the historic Hammond and Wheatley Building.
It opened in 1985 as a frock shop called Kakadu Clothing. Kakadu is a word and place sacred to the people who inhabit the land, so it was returned with thanks to the owners. These days, the business identifies itself with the community and location to which it belongs. Bellingen, on the mid north coast of N.S.W, has been the context for Emporium Bellingen to grow into what is a complete men’s and women’s outfitters and homewares store.
The purpose of the new website will be to maintain communication with our existing client base, who already cherish the experience of entering our store .We hope to encourage people who haven’t discovered us to come and participate in the life of the business and the Bellingen environment which flourishes as a vibrant country town.
E-business is not really our thing. P-business is what sustains us in our work to maintain goodwill with our customers and to provide attentive service. People business recognises the importance of human contact and the challenge to keep relationships maintained. There is not much opportunity to practice kindness on eBay or go the extra mile which direct experience provides.
Mail order is a significant aspect of Emporium Bellingen and those brown paper packages tied up with string remind people of the Bellingen experience between visits. Ring us, email us, share a laugh and grow our connection. What happens on the web is secondary to the impact that coming to Bellingen has. Seeing the solar panels on the rooftops, attending a festival, participating in the local economy and realising how much effort is going into saving the local hospital is what counts.
Maintaining stable employment is a genuine achievement in a small country town. Shopping on the net might make some things appear cheaper, but at what cost to the real value of local economy? Emporium Bellingen is thinking about sustainability as you can see.
