National winners: A shot of the team not long after the store opened on High St; from left is Jacki Avers, Cindy O’Neill and Bryan O'Neill, and inset, Jacki and Cindy after last week’s announcement. Photo: Cath Grey
Photo by
Cath Grey
Cindy O’Neill remembers Christmas 2019 like it was yesterday, and it doesn’t immediately bring a smile to her face.
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It was a hectic three-day period that saw her re-locate her Collins Bookstore business to its current High St location.
That epic Christmas Day unpacking effort is now a distant memory as the Echuca business has been named National Collins Booksellers Franchise of the Year.
“I remember that move vividly. It was all hands on deck (staff and my daughter Abbey) when we closed at the old site at 4pm on Christmas Eve,” Ms O’Neill said.
“We put everything in boxes and moved everything that night.
“Then, on Christmas Day, Abbey and I unpacked it and got it on the shelves — had half an hour for dinner at McDonald’s and then the shop opened at 10am the next day.”
Ms O’Neill has always been a hard worker, and the effort to re-establish the business at its new site was made to satisfy demand.
“Visitors and locals alike love reading over the holiday period,” she said.
“We have a lot of riverside readers and a lot of return business.”
When Ms O’Neill bought the business it was on the brink of closure, which makes the national award even more significant considering the climb back to the top of the mountain.
Ms O’Neill and her “right-hand woman” Jacki Avers were celebrating the result yesterday when The Riv caught up with the pair, having been announced as the award winner last week at the second Collins Booksellers conference held by Zoom.
“It was the second occasion we have self-nominated,” Ms O’Neill said.
“Last year we won the national marketing award.”
The Echuca store beat out 11 other Victorian stores, along with nine from NSW and several others from the remaining Australian states.
“In all there are 28 stores in Australia,” she said.
Ms O’Neill, a mother of three who owned a second-hand bookstore prior to taking on the Collins Booksellers business, said the roller coaster that was the book business was back on an upward trend.
“It is a bit up and down. Books were the only way to go years ago, then Kindle arrived and cut deeply into book store profits,” she said.
“Now books are making another comeback.
“People tell us it is the feel of the book, the smell, just turning the pages.
“Plus, if you drop your iPad in the bath it is a very expensive book.”
Ms O’Neill said because she and Ms Avers were avid readers, the conversation flowed freely with book lovers.
“Jacki and I were born and bred here, we went to school together,” she said.
“People love to talk about books, this is not just a nine-to-five job.”
Collins Booksellers will turn 100 years old next year; Its base of operations is in Melbourne’s Bourke St Mall at the iconic Hill of Content building.
As for what people are reading at the minute, Ms O’Neill said anything Australian was selling.
“Biographies are also very big, the Lisa Wilkinson book is very popular,” she said.
“Three Sisters by Heather Morris is also a great book. We love to promote Australian authors.”
A book written by a 99-year-old Holocaust survivor from Auschwitz, titled The Happiest Man on Earth, has also gained rave reviews.
He was 101 when he passed away, but got to hold the printed version of his story before he died.
Ms O’Neill and Ms Avers, along with Ms O’Neill’s father Bryan and Sunday girl Sophie Baldwin, can all share some credit for the result.
“Dad (Bryan) is a bit of a local legend,” Ms O’Neill said.
“He is in here on Tuesdays, having retired from the newsagency after 30 years.”
Only Ms O’Neill’s daughter will be able to celebrate with her at Christmas this year; Abbey, is serving with the Australian army in Darwin, will be coming home for the holidays.
Ms O’Neill’s sons Braydon and Lachlan will be in Mount Gambier for the festive season.
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