The secret to survival in tough trading times is to be adaptable and always thinking ahead, Alex Pilcher from the White Place believes.

Having just opened her second store in tourism-heavy Millthorpe late last year — like most high-end home and lifestyle retailers — she was knocked for six by the sudden shuttering of the Great Western Highway at Mount Victoria.

Three months later, she has gotten back up, brushed herself off, and adopted a nimble and innovative social media and marketing strategy that has pretty much turned everything around.

The key, she argues, is to take control of what you can and make the best of the situation, a resolve she found hard to envisage after the lightning-bolt closure of Victoria Pass took everyone by surprise in early March.

“I’m not a doom-and-gloom person, absolutely not, but I was triggered by the pass closing, along with all the other negative aspects of high fuel, inflation, and interest rates,” Alex told Orange City Life.

“I was in a dark place at the start of the year but, after a period of negativity, I thought ‘We have to exclude problems outside of our control, and only worry about what we can change’,” she added.

With about 30 per cent of the Orange store serving local clientele, 30 per cent regional shoppers from places like Mudgee, Dubbo, and Wagga Wagga, and the rest from metropolitan areas, her major concern was for her new historic village enterprise.

“It was quite trying, with about 75 per cent of Millthorpe shoppers all from the metropolitan area, I thought ‘Oh My God, what does it mean?’

“However, I’ve been in a few business roundtables, and there are people way worse off than me; for transport companies, the impact has been huge,” she recalled.

To take back the situation, she thought outside the box with some innovative ideas designed to make the best of a bad lot.

“My general view is, yes it is a negative, but I try and always be positive and think about new ideas,” Alex explained

“I’ve looked inside social media strategies and general marketing, targeting regionally-based people not affected by the pass closure to draw them here.”

This has been particularly the case for the Millthorpe store where she has devised a cooperative arrangement with smaller retailers for mutual support and promotion.

“I created a collaboration I call it the ‘Millthorpe Residency’ where I look at allowing makers, artist, and creators to do a pop-up in store.

“I recently had a shoemaker retailing brands I don’t usually sell, a lady based in Wagga with a whole range of footwear for five days; the aim is to create hype, to change the vibe a little bit.”

Sailing among swimmingly for nearly two decades at the White Place in Byng Street, Alex believes that the tumult of recent years has shown all retailers an important lesson... you have to learn to adapt.

“I’m now looking at what I can and can’t control, and to be agile; COVID taught me that.

“For me, it’s about focussing on local media, focusing on my email marketing database, and collaborating with other businesses to change the narrative to a more positive aspect,” Alex said.

Mother of a five- and six-year-old and also helping run a home decor and property staging business with her husband, Jonathan, she laughs at the idea of “only” doing 50-hour weeks.

“I describe us as a lifestyle store with an eclectic curation for both yourself and your home,” Alex said.

“It’s small business, though, so in this industry, you’re the buyer, the seller, you do HR, sales, you do everything.”