• Case Studies

Native Drops: Showcasing the Weird and Wonderful

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Meet the artisanal merchants helping customers navigate the big world of wine.

The Native Drops team believe wine is something to be admired, discussed and understood. Each offering has been hand-selected for its innovation and, of course, taste. Weird and wonderful offerings are showcased alongside more traditional drops; there’s something for everyone. Sustainable farming and harvesting practices are prioritised, and small batch is the name of the game — so it’s in customers’ best interests to have a chat with the friendly, well-informed staff.

Native Drops operates two stores in Sydney — the first in the iconic beach suburb of Bondi, and a second outlet in Surry Hills. In both locations, customers are invited to step off the bustling sidewalk into a serene environment that feels more like an art gallery than a retail store. With polished concrete, suspended shelves and eye-catching floral arrangements, Native Drops is a far cry from the big name commercial bottle shops. Design of the space is prioritised, which is one of the reasons why Zeller Terminal sits atop each counter.

We sat down with co-owner Daniel Berman to learn more about Australians’ discerning wine choices, and elevating the experience of purchasing a drop through personalised service and conversation.

Where did your love of wine begin?

My love for wine began long before it became part of my profession. Initially, it was the social connectivity which surrounded sharing a bottle of wine: friends, colleagues, family all taking part and revelling in a bottle of wine created a sense of community, connectivity, and united pleasure.

Living between South Africa and Australia gave me a wonderful cross-cultural understanding of wine in the ‘new world’ and, as the years went on, my passion for wine transcended the boundaries of social significance and became a personal discovery of agriculture, art, geography, gastronomy and the relevant educational aspects of wine and its production.

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This was further developed after some incredible wine-related missions with my wife to Italy. After some decent success in various spiritually-underwhelming business ventures, I ultimately took a leap of faith to convert my passion for wine into a commercial opportunity and have loved every minute of it since.

To me, wine is very much a collective ideal and not so much about a specific style or bottle. I think it t was many great bottles, over many happy occasions, that crafted my love for wine.

Tell us a bit about Native Drops.

I have always been enamoured with small wine producers — living their passion, honing their craft with desire, care and integrity, and working with nature. Particularly with those that have a connection to the production of wines that truly reflect the vineyard, those that craft their wines with minimal intervention, and who respect the land which they are farming. After my wife moved to Australia, we set about further exploring the local wine landscape together. We were always on the hunt for wines which we had enjoyed across vineyards, tastings, festivals, restaurants, or wine bars which reflected the artisanal approach to wine production.

It became apparent that at that time, in the early and mid 2010’s, there were very few retail outlets and drinking establishments that were championing local boutique producers of this nature. After many discussions involving some wonderful local wines, my wife and I decided to find a way to promote these types of wines and producers, and give them a louder voice in our community. This idea of creating wine that was representative of its place, coupled with the love for local producers, was how the concept of Native Drops was born and fuelled (and named).

After looking at various spaces, we found a workable space in Bondi with the potential for a bottle store, and within a short and very fast few months we were building the store. We had a friend who was interested in investing with us in the idea. Soon our wine dream became a reality.

Though the term ‘community’ is thrown around a lot as a marketing tool, it is truly our aim as a bottle shop promoting such an under-represented product to provide an educational and relaxed community hub for wine, and to change people’s perspective on what wine is all about. Part of this is tastings, educational masterclasses, collaborations with local businesses and artists but, most importantly, just creating a space and a vibe where anyone can be comfortable to discuss and learn about wine. And of course purchase brands that are a little different to what they may have known before.

It’s all about communication and connection with people.

Wine has always been a catalyst for these principles to me, and this is how we wanted to communicate to our customers.  People were initially sceptical about the style of products we promoted, but it didn’t take long to change their minds. We find ourselves, five years later, having built countless relationships with our customers — now friends — all over Sydney and Australia and we have changed the way a lot of people think about wine. We consider that a major achievement.

How will these new elements help grow the business?

We haven’t really changed our formula since the start. The pandemic obviously brought challenges which did not allow us to fully express ourselves by doing things like tastings and events etc, but ultimately our community allowed us to remain successful. Adding product options like subscriptions are simply a way for those that cannot come visit us in store to still have a curated selection of the wines which we are currently enjoying.

What’s the difference between drinking and experiencing wine?

The landscape has changed a lot over the years. Artisanal and minimal intervention wine is now readily available through various channels and has become very popular, which is fantastic. Buyers are becoming more discerning and conversational with regards to wine.

This was not so much the case when we started. When we opened the first store in Bondi, the style of products we were selling were not easily available and often misunderstood. We had an idea to showcase the wines we promoted as a collection of art. An experience.

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Something worth admiring, discussing, and understanding on a deeper level. We set up our fit-out to represent this idea. Almost like a gallery of wine.

Within our gallery, our aim is to have conversations.

These conversations allow customers to purchase a wine and feel comfortable and happy that they are walking away with something special, no matter the cost.

This is how we differ from most bottle shops and retail chains. Personal and very informed service in a space that is warm, interesting, and fun. This, we believe, heightens the experience not only of purchasing wine, but also drinking wine. Experiencing and drinking wine go hand in hand.

Your product line prioritises sustainability — is this something consumers are looking for?

Simply, our offering provides a framework for some of our beliefs surrounding wine and wine production. We want to champion producers who are committed to producing wines using minimal intervention. This includes respecting the vineyards and the land which they farm or acquire grapes from, as well as how they vinify the grapes and create wine. We believe this makes wines that are most representative of the vineyards they come from and, ultimately, the wines we love to drink.

We also like to support producers who have integrity and commitment to the industry. We consider these people Artisans. If the products are considered as ‘natural’ or any other term people want to use, that’s fine. Ultimately, we’re just a wine shop selling great wine made by great people (we think).

Artisanal products have gained popularity in recent years. There are many more bars and restaurants selling similar products, as well as many new stores with a similar focus to us. It’s fantastic to see such a strong development in such a short space of time. As businesses like ours have educated customers on new producers and styles of wine and the increase in popularity online and on social media, we have definitely seen a trend of more discerning wine drinkers in our communities.

Our customers have certainly shifted the way they purchase and even talk about wine. From memorising brands to discussing wine evolution over several vintages, our customers’ interests have become more in-depth. This involves being more comfortable with discussing advice and buying wine for more experience-based reasons. A lot of this has happened naturally through developing relationships via face-to-face discussions.

What prompted the switch to Zeller?

My biggest issue with previous EFTPOS terminal providers was the lack of personal service and poor customer service in general. They had let me down several times. It was very frustrating.

The Zeller brand has a personal touch, and the Zeller Sales team gave me a sense of security which other providers had not done. I felt like I was dealing with a smaller, local business, which felt more representative of myself and my brand.

I was offered competitive rates and the terminals were very well designed, and aesthetically much more cohesive with the vibe of the store. It felt like a good fit.

It was a very smooth transition. I find it easy to navigate the Zeller Dashboard, and the reporting is simple to use so I can manage various admin tasks on the go. The team is a pleasure to work with, and I’m happy I made the switch!

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Bar Positano: from Food Truck to Brick-and-Mortar Eatery

Meet the all-authentic Italian food truck navigating an expansion during COVID-19. The evolution from popular mobile food truck to permanent bar, deli and cafe seems a natural progression for Bar Positano . After a successful eighteen months serving paninis, cheese boards, and other Italian delights from the bay window of their highly instagrammable van, co-owners Anthony Porra and Luca Andolfo decided to put down stumps in Sydney’s Surry Hills and shift their focus to the sit-down dining experience. Although a sudden citywide lockdown threatened to derail the grand opening of Bar Positano’s new brick-and-mortar location, the duo were quick to adapt. Celebratory spritzes were swapped for takeaway cocktails and the deli was stocked with take-home pasta so locals could dish up their own cure for those holiday cravings. We spoke to Luca and Anthony about the challenges they’ve faced so far, and why now’s the perfect time to bring a slice of the Amalfi Coast to Surry Hills. Tell us a bit about how Bar Positano first started. We first started out in the events industry, providing event hire and styling services for many weddings and other events. A lot of clients use pop-up food and drink vendors for a more casual style, so we decided to add a mobile bar to our offering. Being of Italian heritage, we thought we could offer a unique and authentic food truck, focusing on quality products and service for weddings, private and public events. Then we were in Surry Hills one evening and saw the vacant shop, which had a nice unique style and a sunny corner position. Many Australians travel and love the Italian summer atmosphere, when it comes to alfresco dining and aperitivo. We’ve always wanted to bring that experience to Sydney, and thought this would be a perfect location to test our idea. What was the biggest challenge you faced, establishing a permanent site? Being a food truck, we always tailored our menu based on the event or location we were serving. We also kept to a limited menu, as it is always a challenge working within such a small space! Moving into a physical location made us really think about our target market and demographic, as well as a gap in the market which we wanted to target. It is always challenging establishing a new business in a niche category, as you don’t know whether it will work or not. But we believe in it and really love it ourselves, so we just hope that everyone else does too. How has COVID-19 impacted your business? COVID-19 is a huge challenge to all businesses, but we decided to open up anyway as we wanted the community to see what we have to offer — albeit with a limited menu at the moment. We also sell smallgoods from the deli and pasta, sauces and other Italian products, which are a benefit to locals during lockdown. It’s the right time for us, particularly because we are opening in winter — at a time people normally head off overseas for a summer holiday. Despite the current restrictions, we’re giving customers a feeling of being overseas on holiday, or eating and drinking what they normally would if they were in Italy. We have been lucky enough to receive support from the locals, grabbing something takeaway and supporting our new business. What inspired you to make the switch to Zeller? How are you finding it? What we were looking for was a reliable system that was simple to use in a fast-paced environment. We love that the terminal not only looks good and suits our decor, but it is so simple to use with extremely low rates. The customer service and support is really great, the onboarding simple and straightforward, and the general daily use is so simple and reliable. Really happy we chose Zeller! What have you learned about running a business, with everything going on this year? To really think about our business concept, and how we can still be true to our brand and offering while remaining versatile so we can adapt as situations change.  For instance, instead of sitting down to an antipasti board and Aperol Spritz — which is what we initially envisioned — we decided to advertise takeaway deals on our social profiles and package everything up, including the alcohol, so people can enjoy the same product at home, or wherever they may be. It is so important to stay in touch with the community by communicating on social media, the website, and as best you can in store for anyone who passes by. What’s next for Bar Positano? We are really looking forward to opening our doors and having people sit down and enjoy the space. At the moment it feels like a bit of a tease, as we have only been offering takeaway coffees, panini, and a limited menu from the deli. It will be great to be able to operate at full capacity, for both our customers and staff. Do you have any advice for other business owners at this time? Stay positive, be creative and hang in there! The community is really supportive and tries to support as best they can. Restrictions will eventually lift, so just take it day by day and be flexible with your product, trading hours, and how you operate your business.

Fluent Store: from Passion Project to Profitable Business

Smart social media marketing drew a two-hour-long line on opening day. The rest is history. Since Fluent first opened doors in 2020, the streetwear store has become a mecca for sneakerheads. Collectors travel from all over to see the rare sneakers on display, while the feature wall – adorned with the latest Yeezies, Jordans, Nikes, and more – entices passers-by to step inside and grab their first pair of kicks. The strength and size of Fluent's newfound customer base is a testament to the hard work that's gone on behind the scenes. Owners Logan and Esha began working on their business plan just under 18 months ago, while working as cleaners. After finishing the night shift at 8 AM, the couple would jump straight into business planning. Since then, they've juggled the creation of Fluent’s first website, two store openings, and become first-time parents. We spoke to Logan and Esha about sneaker culture, the risk and reward of starting a business, and the benefits of selling in-person versus online. When did your love for sneakers begin? Logan: I’ve always been a fan of basketball, and the culture that comes with it – the style, the fashion. I had a few pairs of basketball shoes as a kid, but they were always hand-me-downs from my older brothers. I never actually got a fresh pair for myself. Then I moved to Australia, started getting my own money, and started collecting. Esha: Then, from 2016 to 2019, we did a bit of traveling in America, Canada, and Europe. In each country that we went to, we made a point to find the best, hidden sneaker stores. It became a passion, and we starting thinking we’d like to create something similar at home – because we believe there’s a market for it. When we returned from our most recent trip, we started listing and selling our own collection of sneakers on Instagram – the sneakers we had collected during our travels. We really, really wanted to hold on to those sneakers, but we thought if want to make something, we’re going to have to sell something. So we made the executive decision, and that's what helped us get where we are today. How did you take your first steps into business ownership? Esha: From April 2019, there was a lot of work going on in the background. It was still a hobby at that stage – it wasn’t making enough to be our main income, but it was always something we wanted to make our focus. Our main job was cleaning, and we did night shifts. After finishing at 8 in the morning, we’d have the whole day spare – which is a lot of time to think about how we’re going to kick this off the ground. So, we went from selling on Instagram to setting up our own website. Logan: We figured it would set us apart from other sneaker sellers on Instagram. If you have an online store, you look more authentic. It was the next step in authenticating our brand. I think we only had 20 people on our site the day it launched, but we thought it was amazing – we had 20 people viewing our store! So that's where we started. What made you decide to take the leap from e-commerce to brick-and-mortar? Esha: I was the one who was more reserved and said we couldn’t open a physical store until we have enough revenue, or we have enough clientele. But then the pandemic began, and commercial tenancies seemed more affordable. We already knew that Perth customers like to see you face-to-face, because Logan was out on the road meeting customers all the time, so we looked at what was in our budget. We worked out how many pairs of shoes we needed to sell to afford it, and went for it. If the worst comes to worst, we thought we could just get rid of the car if we had to! Logan: In person, we can show customers the shoes and they can really understand what they’re buying, which helps grow our online presence as well as in-store traffic. It’s also a way to put a face to the brand, and deepen the connection with customers who have been shopping with us since we started. What are you doing to drive foot traffic to your store? Esha: There's always been a couple of things that we envisioned for the store, the two most important being great lighting and a large wall to showcase our shoes. That was one of the attractions for us when we traveled; every store had this amazing sneaker wall. No matter where we set up shop, we really wanted to try and achieve that. So, we built it. Then we teased the launch on Instagram using the wall, and I think it did help in getting customers here. The day we opened the store, we didn’t even have a chance to look outside. So when we pulled the drop sheet and saw the line, it was a rewarding surprise. We didn't check our clocks until two hours later and the line was still going. It was an amazing turnout. Any store owner’s hope is that people turn up when you’re opening, or launching a new product, or anything like that. Logan: Now, everyone who comes to our store can step back and appreciate the sneaker wall. It’s Instagrammable. Customers come in, take a photo and share it on their stories – which helps us grow. How does selling in-store compare to running an online business? Esha: Most customers that buy from you online already know about your products. They already know the price point and the reasons behind it. A brick-and-mortar shop gives us the opportunity to speak with people who don’t. In-store, we’re able to explain the shoes to the customer, which really helps them understand and become educated about why a sneaker costs what it does, and the culture and history of the community. Mums and Dads for example often don’t understand the sneaker game, or why they can be expensive. But when parents come in-store, we can educate them so hopefully they leave with a bit of appreciation about it. They often leave with a pair for themselves, that matches their kids. The customer experience is one of our core values as a small business. How is Zeller helping you provide a great customer experience? Esha: Our first EFTPOS terminal, from another provider, required us to switch apps every time we processed a transaction. It left room for human error. One of the main things we knew we wanted when the business grew was a sleek, user-friendly terminal we could both use, and give to any employees we hire without having to explain difficult processes. Zeller Terminal is ten times easier to use. Ease of use is critical when you're getting a lot of foot traffic. Logan: We recently went to a sneaker convention and found Zeller Terminal helped create a more trustworthy and friendly payment experience for our customers – which we feel is important, especially when you’re dealing with rare sneakers as they’re at an above-average price point. Some other stores were accepting cash or bank transfers, but we were able to continue to accept transactions at the event using Zeller Terminal, without breaking our workflow. And the battery lasted the whole day, which was great as we had no access to power. Do you have any other plans for 2021? Esha: Fluent already stocks Fluent-branded t-shirts, but we’d like to expand the product line. For that, we need to develop a team, find the right materials, and plan for production. The goal is to have a collection underway by the end of the year. That, and making the in-store customer experience as great as it can be. By sharing your details with us, we may contact you from time to time. 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Navigating the Post-Lockdown Wedding Boom with White Lily

It's not quite business as usual for those in the bridal industry. It’s been a tumultuous few years for weddings. After a pandemic-imposed pause, there is a backlog of brides-to-be eager to get their plans back on track. And the most important item on the to-do list? The dress. Yet challenges continue to plague the wedding industry. That pent-up demand is colliding with supply chain interruptions, rising costs and critical labour shortages, forcing bridal business owners to once more adapt to “unprecedented times”. After navigating his way through countless lockdowns, Quinton Evans – owner of White Lily Couture , a bridal boutique in Queensland’s Red Hill – is working hard to overcome these new challenges. We sat down with Quinton to talk about the changes he’s observed, switching from the big-4 banks, and making mental health a priority. Tell us how you got into the bridal industry. My wife and I took over the business in 2013 — the previous owner had been running it since 2007. We realised we were sick of working for other people. She had been working for another retail business, and turned around their stores. One ended up being a million-dollar sales business, and another became the most profitable store in the state. I was a wedding photographer, so we figured we’d either run a florist or a bridal store. As first-time business owners, we were a little naive. The old business owner stayed with us for the first month, and at the time we thought we might have made a bad investment. Since then, there’s been a lot of sweat, hard work and learning. It’s been almost 9 years now, and we’re absolutely smashing it out of the park. How has COVID-19 affected the wedding industry? At the end of March 2020, we were really stressing. Appointments started to drop off, and once the lockdown was imposed we didn’t have a choice. We didn’t know what to do. We worked out how long we could operate and continue paying staff in full, and when the money would run out. JobKeeper was a real blessing, and an annoyance. The store was closed in April 2020, but we were able to reopen in May and within the first week our appointments were fully booked out. We have friends who own a bridal store in Sydney who were locked down for far longer, so we helped out by getting stock in as they were still able to run virtual appointments. What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing right now? It’s getting harder now with supply and recommended retail prices – literally everything is going up. A prime example is a company with its one factory in China. They get the base made at the factory, then it’s shipped over to Spain where all of the lace is sewed on. Then it’s got to be shipped back to the factory in China for final checks before it’s transported to the container hub, put on a ship, and sent over here to Australia. There are a number of things that could go wrong in that whole process before it gets to our door. Why did you switch from the big-4 banks? We’ve previously been with two of the big-4 banks. For a time, a relationship advisor was helping us to get all our accounts in order. They treat you like kings, and try selling you on insurance products, EFTPOS terminals , all of that. Any time I had a question about the weird, confusing stuff banks often come up with, I could ring him up and get an answer quickly. Then we were dropped. When we needed to contact them, we’d typically get put on hold for a couple of hours. It’s the same for any organisation — they get too big, they don’t care about the customer. How has the Zeller experience been different? When I first saw Zeller Terminal, it looked absolutely ideal. It was one of those things, thinking: "How can we use our cash smarter?" We did the calculations, and it works out that we’re saving $10,500 in fees by switching to Zeller. Firstly, that’s fantastic. Secondly, are you kidding me? And now, we accept AMEX too. We couldn’t with our old terminal, because with a 3 per cent fee it wasn’t practical. Zeller’s flat rate is just better. What advice would you give a first time business owner? Take time to look after your own mental health. Really make that a priority, because when it gets to the point where you’re needing it to be a priority, it’s too hard to go backwards. It’s hard to put those things in place when you’re working all the time. Customers are important, but there’s no business without yourself. Do something for yourself — book a time, make it part of your weekly routine. By the time you get to the point where you’re stressed out of your mind, and you’ve got nothing for yourself, it’s too late.

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