ty brands historically do well during tough times.  “There’s so much change going on in the world, and I think there’s equally as much opportunity as there are challenges,” Hallas told Inside Retail.  “People are going to do things that make them feel good, and our brand has a lot of [customer] loyalty because our products work.” Hallas’ comments come at a time of economic uncertainty for many retailers, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest retail sales data noting that spending across all categories, except food, fell in the year to June. Changing spend Ella Baché is no stranger to this. Recently, one of the business’ 120 franchisees had to shutter a number of stores in Brisbane due to difficult trading conditions. However, Hallas remains optimistic about the overall health of the business. “In fact, the business is really strong. Most of our franchisees are seeing 10 per cent growth in the past year,” Hallas said.  Much of this growth has occurred both online and in-store, with the business’ suburban salons having “gone gangbusters” since the pandemic first started. In contrast, the business’ sites in larger cities, such as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, have struggled with the exodus of office-workers from CBDs.  For Hallas, the lessons learned from the pandemic are still valuable today. “Everyone overused the word ‘pivot’ during Covid, but I think it’s still really relevant,” she said.  “There’s a lot of challenges being thrown at businesses right now, smaller businesses in particular, and if you don’t have your hands on the wheel making sure that you change and pivot to where the customers are, you’re going to find it really hard.” One way Ella Baché has pivoted is through a larger focus on its online store.  The business formulates and sells its own products online, which largely caters to customers looking for top-ups of products they already trust. This also allows it to reach a younger demographic of consumers who aren’t as likely to head in-store as older shoppers.  For new products, however, customers are still much more likely to go in-store and interact with the business’ knowledgeable sales staff. It’s not all rosy However, Hallas notes that there are considerable challenges impacting businesses at the moment which are hard to avoid: rising rent, changing consumer demand, low staffing levels, and in many cases, hangover debt incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic. “I’ve spoken to a number of friends of mine in different businesses, and some of their businesses have really fallen off a cliff,” Hallas said.  “But we haven’t seen that yet. I always come back to focus on the basics and do those really well. In times like these people stay with brands that they trust and know and people that they have relationships with.” While Hallas is feeling confident about the year ahead, many smaller operators are feeling less certain. According to a joint study by the Australian Retailers Association and American Express, 32 per cent of small and medium businesses are feeling uncertain about the year ahead. However, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision this week to hold the cash rate steady for the second month in a row should provide some relief to businesses struggling after months of increasing costs.