Much-loved variety store for sale

VINTAGE collectibles and handmade goods hub Plumes Emporium is on the market.

The space is made up of Peter and Marlene Willmott’s business and 40 other tenants who for rent for stalls to sell their own goods.

Mr Wilmott said Plumes was established three years ago when a core group of stallholders were forced to move from their original market space, forming a committee and leasing the building located at 284-288 High Street, Golden Square.

“My hand went up for the lease,” he said. “The committee put some money into it to help funding it initially, but it wasn’t enough, we ended up funding the bulk of it ourselves.”

Wilmott Trading makes up for 40 per cent of the total businesses floor space and sales selling food items such as confectionary and hard-to-find “gourmet” items.

The rest of the space is used by 40 stallholders who sell everything from jewellery to soap and clothing.

Mr Wilmott said the initial committee worked hard to set the space up, including laying out stalls, installing security cameras and alarms, and establishing the computer system, barcode system, and webpage.

“What’s ideal is someone comes in and takes over our side but keeps the collective side going which gives other businesses opportunities to sell their product,” Mr Wilmott said.

“You can walk in, take the keys, turn the lights on and you’re ready.

“Plumes is good in that it covers all your costs and rent; you can run your own business with the costs covered for you as long as you’re willing for that to work. To make money you’d need to be selling your own products.”

With Plumes Emporium becoming a community of its own, Mr Wilmott said he’d like to see that continue.

“It was successful enough and for all the people that put so much into it, morally it would be hard for us to walk away from that,” he said.

“A lot of those people, the initial nine, put a lot of pf physical work into putting it up and still volunteer their time, with the Facebook page and webpage.”

He said he and his wife were semi-retired when they took on the lease and are both looking forward to dialling back their business operation.

Plumes Emporium is for sale via Bendigo Business Sales.