Beloved Perth business puts out distress call as cost of living bites

The owner of one of Perth’s best loved indie bookshops has put out a public distress signal, saying the city’s small businesses are doing it “tougher than during COVID”.

Rabble Books & Games Maylands’ shocking pink presence on hipster high street Eighth Avenue is known for going further than welcoming browsers and gift hunters, representing a haven and events hub for Perth’s queer, First Nations and disability communities.

Natalie Latter and Sam Baker with their daughter Pip. Credit: Stevie Lane

In only 6½ years of operating it has amassed a whopping online following that’s helped it become one of Perth’s most significant bookshops, but that’s not been enough to stop financial bruising – to the point that it on Friday announced online that something had to change, as Rabble was no longer sustainable.

Natalie Latter, who works in the bookshop alongside partner and co-owner Sam Baker, is also a City of Bayswater councillor and further works another job to keep the family afloat financially as the shop is barely breaking even.

They said Baker had worked 26 days in a row and the situation had become untenable, affecting family life with their six-year-old.

It was this that prompted their call for help via social media, asking shoppers to consider their books and subscription services for any Christmas presents, school or workplace needs.

They were then inundated with messages from other nearby retailers and cafes saying they were also struggling.

Latter said Perth rent rises and inflation had hit hard, and they felt a responsibility to keep their staff members’ shifts up and wages in line with CPI, even amid worry about their own family’s financial future.

“We are being squeezed in a way we haven’t ever been,” they said.

“Other businesses who have contacted me are saying the same thing, even if they’ve been here longer.”

They asked people buying online this Christmas for the reason that it was cheaper, to instead consider spending less but spending it locally.

“During 2020-21 with COVID-19 there was such a big push to shop local,” they said.

“We’ve let that fade away, and now is when people need to start thinking about what businesses they want to see continue in their area.”

They said their family very rarely all saw each other at once unless at the shop.

“We insulate [our daughter] Pip from the doom of it,” they said.

“And she doesn’t mind spending time at the bookshop – she feels she has important jobs to do there! – but if we were to really talk about it, I’m sure she would also love to have all of us somewhere that wasn’t work, that we could give all our attention to.”

Asked why they kept going, Latter said they felt what they did was important, and Rabble helped sustain marginalised minority groups as well as the wider Maylands community.

“For a lot of people who don’t find the world a welcoming place, they find Rabble a welcoming place,” they said.

“Books can comfort and sustain us, can give us a vision for the world and the futures we want to create. Art and books are vital and accessible art forms for people of all ages.

“But we are not sure how to sustain it without more sales.”

They had been heartened, however, by other businesses and readers’ responses to her post with similar stories, support and ideas.

They encouraged people to challenge the idea that keeping up appearances was always paramount.

“It’s easy to think things are just ticking along for other people if they don’t talk about what they are experiencing,” they said.

“If people don’t know, they don’t know.”

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