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Mount Gambier the SA layby capital

Posted on September 17, 2009, 7:07am and updated on September 18, 2009 at 8:28 am

Layby

Retravision Mount Gambier proprietor Rick Macera says people use layby to manage their budgets.

Mount Gambier has been named the layby capital of South Australia.

Layby Services Australia has developed a database of the towns and suburbs where layby is most in demand throughout the country.

“Layby is particularly popular in areas where people are cost conscious and smart when it comes to saving,” chief executive Terry Seremetis said.

“While the sharemarket may have staged something of a recovery, unemployment and interest rates are both expected to rise.”

Mr Seremetis said predictions by analysts that interest rates may climb again in the near future had led people to focus on their household budgets.

“Many people are sensibly trying to avoid using their credit cards and getting into debt,” he said.

“Instead they are rediscovering the virtues of good, old fashioned layby as a means of saving up for goods.”

Retravision Mount Gambier proprietor Rick Macera said the South East’s labour-intense work force led to people carefully considering use of their disposable income and the need to budget available funds made layby popular.

“We have people using layby here from all age groups to their advantage for all types of goods,” he said, adding it was particularly popular for more expense items.

Mr Macera said sales of all types had remained strong despite the economic downturn.

“The South East seems to be able to ride out the downturn in a positive way — it is a resilient area,” he said.

Harvey Norman computers franchisee Simon Tew said his business had moved away from layby due to technology developing so rapidly that if goods were put on hold they often became superseded by the time customers took them home.

But the manager of a local furniture store, who requested not to be named, said layby was always popular and was consistently used for orders of items that were not kept in stock.

“People put down a deposit and then pay the rest when items arrive,” he said.

He said sales had been strong, although the football and netball finals this month had led to a slight drop in retail activity as people were focused on sport, but good winter rain had given farmers confidence to spend.

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