Twenty Year Celebration & Expansion
An Albury favourite celebrates 2 decades and 2 stores
Not even a pandemic could stop an iconic Albury retailer from celebrating twenty years in business and throwing in an expansion to boot!
Zeinert and Co is considered one of Albury’s favourite destination stores, but now you’ll see a fresh new retail space in a heritage building.
Owner Julie Zeinert says 2020 was the year she decided to up the ante and grow her fashion and giftware store.
“Last year when COVID hit, I needed to make a big decision about whether I was going to grow my business, or stay stagnant,” Julie said.
“We outgrew the space we were in at 483 Dean Street, then looked at the former Osborne’s building (a few doors up). We probably would have survived COVID, but developing the growth side of the business was more appealing so we thought we’d freshen up the business.”
The Osborne’s Gift Shop had been a fixture in Dean Street since at least the 1930’s, so Julie was determined to pay homage to the building’s heritage.
“We’ve really respected the building, we’ve retained the old ceiling, part of the old plaster that was in here, lifted the floor and created a beautiful concrete floor and it looks absolutely amazing,” Julie said.
“We’ve become even more of a destination store. One of those stores you come to Albury Wodonga and want to visit,” she said.
The former store at 483 street is still in use as a pop-up clearance store.
Julie has also innovated in the ‘virtual’ world during COVID, with popular Facebook Live and Instagram feeds highlighting and modelling a selection of clothes for sale online.
With summer on the horizon, Julie shares her fashion expectations for the months ahead.
“I think there’s definitely going to be an increase in dresses because people are wanting to get dressed up. In terms of colours I think we’ll see navy, pink, mint and green tones, as well as pastels again.
“People will not spend $400 or $500 on an item. The average price range will be between $80 – $120. That’s what helped us get through the past few years, not stocking those high end pieces, and I think that will continue.
“In terms of the future, I think we just need to continue to stay strong, deliver fantastic customer service more than anything – and stop talking about COVID.”
Visit Zeinert & Co at 487 Dean Street and the clearance store at 483 Dean Street Albury.
Produced by Border Cafe in partnership with AlburyCBD
