Business ‘in healthy state’

By Ed Merrison
BUSINESS in Healesville is in a healthy state, according to Chamber of Commerce president Gary Slater, with the town coping well with its growth and adapting well to the challenges it faces.
“By and large, the chamber is very happy with the way business in Healesville is going at the moment.
“Over the past year, most businesses reported growth and we’ve had a decline in business ownership turnover,” he said.
Mr Slater believes the competitive pricing and personalised service offered by the retail strip suited Healesville and its visitors well.
“In particular, Healesville’s retail strip has become more vibrant.
“Businesses have become more aware of servicing the tourist trade, as well as continuing to provide good service to the local community,” he said.
Mr Slater said the chamber, which represents a broad range of businesses of all sizes, had recently shifted its focus to provide seminars and workshops in order to assist business owners, a move that was yielding good results.
Despite the many positive changes, Mr Slater said there was still work for the chamber to do in maintaining growth, and singled out the town’s industrial estate as a limiting factor that needed to be addressed.
“We’re trying to work with the shire to address those issues and see how we can develop an enlarged or secondary industrial area.
“We’re also working on the streetscape to ensure it remains uniform and in keeping with what’s in place, and there are some businesses we’d like to attract into town, such as footwear, white goods, jewellery and clothing outlets,” he said.
Mr Slater, who has been a Healesville resident for over 25 years, said the local community was becoming more affluent and was supportive of its local businesses.
“What I enjoy most about Healesville is that it’s small enough for you to be a part of vibrant community but large enough that if you want your privacy you can maintain that as well,” he said.