Meet the retailer: Mitchell McCabe

Mitchell McCabe is a retailer with heritage. The standalone boutique has been spruiking goods in its South Melbourne location since 1901.

With over 117 years under its belt, the store is now run by Andrew Scawen, who maintains a loyal following of discerning men thanks to his curation of local and international brands.

We paid a visit to Scawen to check out the store.

Photography: Kamilla Musland

Tell us about your business. We are proudly independent, and equally proud to have been in continuous operation, in the same location since 1901.

What’s the Mitchell McCabe point of difference? Obviously our mix of national and international brands, but beautiful merchandising in our heritage location and store fittings makes us unique.

What do you love most about the location? The variety of folks we get every day. Young to less young, media and web creatives, architects and designers, all add to the mix and keep us on our toes.

What other brands do you stock? Ben Sherman, Cutler, David Smith, Denham, Scotch and Soda and Superdry round off our collections – while we have many other unique brands of socks, underwear and grooming products such as Marvis Toothpaste and of course, Triumph and Disaster.

What do you love most about Triumph & Disaster? The simplicity and honesty of the product and its manufacture. The branding is excellent and we love the sense of humour and purpose that goes with every product. Most of the feedback we get is simply, "keep it coming."

What’s your favourite product in the range? I use the Gameface moisturiser twice daily, but my favourite would always be the Old Fashioned Shave Cream in the bowl - the scent of the Turkish blend just gets me every time!

People love your store because… Of the consistency and quality of the brands we carry, everything is presented with love and respect for the product, as well as the indented purchaser. Everyone can get an individual look at Mitchell McCabe.

What’s next for the business? Another 117 years.