Professionals Tamborine Mountain 
A few questions with the owner of Tamborine Village Traders sheds a lot of light on the workings of this rural community
Kyle Hitchmough
Christina, the owner of Tamborine Village Traders, was mixing paint when I arrived to ask her if she had the time for an interview. As it happened, she didn’t— Instead I was treated to something of a firsthand demonstration of a working day at the hardware and produce store as stock was checked, trucks were loaded, and customers’ needs were tended to. The store has been standing for 30 years and business shows no signs of slowing down. When the rush finally abated for a few moments I had a chat with Christina to find out just why Tamborine Village Traders is such a hive of satisfied customers.
Could you briefly describe your range of stock?
Hardware, irrigation, plumbing, paint, gardening, tools, saddlery, stock feed, pet supplies, a bit of everything.
What do you find yourself selling the most of, out of those things, if anything?
Stock feed, followed by irrigation. Gas refills, pool supplies, that’s about the order of it.
Is there anything in particular you think is one of the more unusual items you carry?
Hmm… Cattle dehorners? Unusual is interesting, to us it’s all normal.
How would you describe your average customer? And that’s not necessarily in a stereotype sense, more so is it the livestock owners, is it farmers, is it the handyman type, etc?
Small acreage, D.I.Y, that’s the average customer. A lot of tradespeople.
How busy do you often find the store on a good day?
You’ve just seen what comes and goes. It’s consistent all day, a nd on weekends it goes nuts.
You said that over the years you’ve changed a bit to accommodate the needs of the local community. How do you feel you’ve done that?
Increasing the range of stuff that we possibly didn’t have. If we get asked for something new two times, we end up stocking it, because if two people have asked, then… And trends change, people change from one horse feed to something new comes out, they all want that… it’s a constant ring around… Supply and demand, you know.
Have some of the droughts that have plagued the area in the past affected your business in any way?
We definitely sell a lot more irrigation equipment. And stock feed, hugely. Drought always does. Which is bittersweet, because it’s great for us, but people are having to fork out for stuff. But they need it, and we supply it at the right price. We don’t take advantage of a bad situation.
As I thanked Christina and headed on my way out, I passed another customer who’d just finished having his order filled by one of the other team members. Completely unprompted, he turned to me and said, “Always got what I want here.” I couldn’t write a better summary than that if I tried.
Website: www.equinenews.com.au/tamborine-village-trader/
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