While retail fashion faces challenges familiar to all businesses it also fields specific demands that require a passion for a trade that takes no prisoners.
In the ranks are two Dunedin retail fashion doyennes who have each clocked up well over two decades as small, independent one-store operators. They talk to Jude Hathaway about life in this volatile industry.
She followed a childhood dream, and 24 years later Robyn Turner continues to thrive in the routine of running her fashion boutique Duci, which she bought in 1988 along with the Dunedin-based Duci label.
A vital step was taken in moving the shop to Albion Pl, when the precinct was first built in 1992.
"I signed the lease from the architect's drawings. Many said I was committing retail suicide by going there - waiting and wondering was pretty stressful!"
She had, however, known intuitively that it would be an ideal location.
"It's a natural link between George and Great King St with one of the highest foot-traffic counts in the city."
By then she had learnt much about running a one-person business, including how to handle shoplifters, difficult customers and the occasional cross-dresser. However, aspects of the early days were still tough.
"Because I only stocked the Duci label, I had no retail 'history', which meant it was really hard to acquire national brands. Then Zardi, Couture and Corina came along and things became easier."
She now stocks 24 brands, predominantly New Zealand, some Australian and the French high-flyer Animale.
But pressures remain.
"Some labels change direction, others no longer work; there are those I just have not the room to stock and that's also hard. Buying is always a bit hazardous."
Her forte - special-occasion fashion - has created a niche market that she nurtures with exceptional personal service and great clothes.
Also keeping Duci's flame burning brightly is a buoyant make-to-measure business. Using a bank of her own designs Robyn operates this symbiotically with professional dressmaker Judith Nicholls and Judith's Verve label. It is something that fashion retail usurpers, such as online shopping websites, cannot replicate.
"Customers also love the tactile nature of fabrics and textures that computers cannot produce," she points out.
She also knows the importance of her presence in the shop.
"You keep that finger on the pulse; keep inspiring and guiding customers. That way they come back."
This was near-impossible in 2009, when for 12 months she underwent treatment for breast cancer. A determined woman, she persevered, heading to the shop on most days for short spells. Now well again, she has only her previously auburn hair, now a post-chemotherapy silver-grey, as a reminder .
"My great staff, family and that secret weapon of mine, my husband Joe, saw me through."
But once again there's the rhythm of the seasons to enjoy - and particularly summers.
"It's our season, when the weddings, the races and other special occasions happen. This is Duci's time and we love it," she says.
Robyn Turner at Duci
1986-1988: Third-in-charge at Glassons, Dunedin.
1988: Purchased Duci Designs, Hanover St, Dunedin.
1992: Moved Duci to the newly-built Albion Pl.
2003: Top Shop Excellence in Customer Service award.
2004: Top Shop category winner.
Diann Waughs's first foray into fashion was staging fashion shows to air the talents of her Bayfield High School sewing classmates.
The more serious stuff would come later, but this was when the foundations were put down for a career that has embraced her enduring love of both design and fashion retail for over 40 years.
By the time she and her husband Alistair and daughter Amanda returned to Dunedin in 1990, Diann was armed with the right stuff to open a George St fashion boutique to the north of the city's main retail district.
Now three times its original size, the store has a workroom upstairs - previously off-site - and in 1998 the atmospheric basement retail space, complete with original rock walls, was developed for "specials" stock.
These were highlights but the stand-out for Diann was her involvement in the launch of the iD Dunedin fashion show concept in 2000 and the railway station event the following year.
"It's been an exhilarating time from my original involvement to watching it grow," she says.
Another rewarding aspect has been her ongoing employment of Otago Polytechnic fashion design graduates.
"They gain experience in the shop and helping produce the Waughs label in the workroom.
"After two or three years they're on their way. All have gone on to either establish their own labels or work for top New Zealand designers."
She also gets gets behind charity fashion shows and other community events.
On opening Waughs, Diann quickly established a place in the competitive fashion market, her concentration always on 35-years plus fashionable women.
One disappointment was her lack of success with childrenswear.
"We fought a losing battle with the chains but I love childrenswear and will revive it one day."
And she does not deny feeling the recession's bite.
"It's been a hard two years. We've cut back on staff and had to rethink strategy, but we're getting through it.
"At one stage we stocked up to 20 labels but have pared back. One constant has been Caroline Sills. She and her support has been been with me from the start."
Setting up the website www.waughs.co.nz as a promotional tool in 2010 has also created a new facet of the business. At this stage she only sells Kathryn Wilson footwear online, with more options to come.
Yes she is battle-weary. But she is also resilient.
"I think that small, independent fashion retailers will always have a struggle. However, we will try hard to survive. This is because we love what we do, have good staff around us, are always in the store (we're the ones who look a bit weary!) and ensure we buy clothes that suit our region, our climate, and the varied Otago lifestyles of our customers."
Diann Waugh at Waughs
Late '60s: Fashion retail job in Arthur Barnett casualwear department.
1972-1976: Various London fashion stores, including Chelsea Girl.
1976-1980: Retail sales assistant Daily Planet fashion store, Sydney.
1981-1990: Established Waughs womenswear fashion label in Auckland; also worked for designer Caroline Sills in design studio and retail store.
1990: Opened Waughs fashion boutique, Dunedin.
