Muriel Salon Pty Ltd trading as Rinaldi’s has provided quality, affordable ladies wear, reliable customer service, local employment opportunities and community support for 65 years.

 

In 1951 Doris MURIEL Hastings revamped a ladies wear shop in Nolan Street Maryborough.   Wall to wall carpet, chrome racks, counter to match and a “window” display that was one continuous space within the shop, unusual for the time.   The Muriel Frock Salon also had a travelling branch, which consisted of a truck pulling a caravan, which was set up as a small shop.   The travelling enterprise toured the district, stopping at small towns during 1951-54.   After 1954 the business was sold to Doris’ stepdaughter Evelyn Woolman.

 

Barry and Judy Rinaldi purchased Muriel Salon Pty Ltd from Warren and Linda Woolman (nee Rinaldi) in 1976.

Barry kept his existing employment and attended to the business bookwork whilst a 29-year-old Judy began making changes to the stock and shop layout.   Lingerie became a major stock addition with an adjoining shop fitted out with floor to ceiling racks to display the increasing range of bra’s and briefs along with sleepwear.    Handbags, gloves and jewelry joined fashion accessories of hosiery and scarves.     In 1979 an additional enjoining shop was purchased to create “Circe” a younger fashion boutique.   The Muriel Salon now consisted of three adjoining shops, the Lingerie shop, the Muriel Salon and Circe all accessed through “hole in the wall” doorways.   New premises to incorporate the three shops were built on the Nolan and Alma Streets corner in 1996.   Muriel Salon Pty Ltd began trading as Rinaldi’s at this time.    In November of 1996 Rinaldi’s was a winner in the Central Goldfields Shire Business Excellence award.

 

Community Support

Proprietors of Muriel Salon have supported the community and organizations in various ways.

Rinaldi’s continues this support.

Gift donations for Raffles, Christmas stockings, and School Fetes as well as Fashion Parades as fund raising events for Sporting Clubs, Kindergartens, Schools, Church groups, Red Cross and others.   Parades have also been presented in surrounding small towns for specialized events.   Street parades with fellow retailers were a highlight of the Maryborough Street Festival held to welcome visitors to the early RACV Energy Breakthrough events.

Participators in Secondary school Work Experience Programs over many years.

In recent years Rinaldi’s has also sponsored primary and secondary school entries in the RACV Energy Breakthrough.

 

On a personal level Barry Judy and Linda have taken an interest in the community with Judy serving on Kindergarten Committee, Secondary School Council, Chamber of Commerce and Arts Centre Committee.

Linda has being on School Council, Parents Club and provides fashion etiquette training and commerce sessions to the local Secondary school students.

Barry was a member Primary School 404 Council.

After joining the growing business to manage accounts and stock processing on a full time basis Barry ran for local council in 1998 and is currently serving his fourth term as Mayor.   He is a director of the Highland Regional Waste Management group and served as a member of the Federal Area Consultative Committee.    Barry is also the Beacon Champion for the Maryborough Education Centre.

Customer Service

Staff member attend Melbourne to complete corsetry fitting courses operated by leading lingerie company The Berlie Group and the Bendon Group.   These courses also teach staff how to offer advise on the best type of under garment required for individual body types and for specialized dressing. This is now known as a body consultant.

Alteration and embroidery services are offered to all customers.   These services are outsourced and charged out at providers cost.  Free gift-wrapping service is available year round.

No Charge eftpos facility.

Staff is charged with offering reliable and friendly service with honest advice, when asked for, to all customers.

On a weekly basis regular customers of long duration, a number since before 1976 call in to see “what’s new” Rinaldi’s has served customers from three generations of several families and recently in 2013 this was expanded to four generations all shopping at the same time.

Operation Changes

In 1976 Credit cards were processed manually with the details filled in by hand today eftpos facility is safer and less time consuming for both retailer and customer.

Hand written dockets for sales and lay-bys and prices on garment swing tags have made way for computerized dockets giving description of item purchased, price, date and time of purchase and bar coding that allows a full history of the items i.e. the size, colour, supplier, supply date.

A computerized system provides accurate account figures for customers and suppliers, stock control figures for reordering details.

Garments, which were wrapped as bulky brown paper parcels are now popped into Plastic or Paper carry bags.

 Stock

Sourcing stock has always been of great importance and time consuming as a great deal of thought is put into the stock selection.    Stock purchasing has undergone a number of changes over the years.   In 1976 weekly trips were made to Melbourne to pick up stock form local manufacturers to fill in stock after indented orders (forward orders) were supplied.   Gradually most stock had to be ordered up to seven months in advance to guarantee delivery and as companies moved manufacturing off shore very little stock could be purchased during a season.    Recently there has been an improvement in stock availability and quality of imported goods, indenting is still essential with major Labels.

Stock is ordered through fashion agents.

Rinaldi’s has had a long association with most of their suppliers however attending “Fashion Exposed trade fairs in Melbourne and Sydney each year provides an overview of the coming fashion and additional new suppliers.

Rinaldi’s is a member of the Frontline Buying Group; this enables buying power, and price points that can be passed on to customers.

Staff

Muriel Salon Pty Ltd and Rinaldi’s have been honored and privilege over the years to have some very fine staff a number of who were with the company for long periods – nine, ten years and more.

Members of the Rinaldi family worked as Saturday morning girls in Circe during their senior school years with Linda Rinaldi deciding to join the staff full time after completing a business course at Latrobe University Bendigo Campus and then in later years completing a Diploma of Retail Management with the Australian Retail Association, Retail Institute.   Linda is now Store Manager and welcomes customers old and new with her friendly smile.