Small U.S. stores adopt personal touch to survive
Many U.S. retailers, large and small, have good reason to envy Sue Opeka — sales at her store have been up 15 percent for the past four months and she’s up 5 percent for the year so far.
Opeka’s store, The Present Moment, sells “affirmational and motivational” gifts such as placards lauding family and friends. The shop sits on the picturesque main street of the wealthy northern Chicago suburb Libertyville.
Opeka opened her store after a corporate career that included a long stint at auto parts maker Tenneco Inc. She attributes part of her success while retailers around the country suffer from a slowing economy to being “non-cyclical.”
“When times are good people seek affirmation, when they are bad they seek motivation,” she said.
Staring into the face of a possible recession as the holiday shopping season approaches, many small U.S. stores and boutiques catering to wealthier consumers are adjusting strategies and inventories.
Some are adding a personal touch to attract clients who are more cautious with their money and lure them away from the major U.S. retail chains. Those who have succeeded are managing to defy a sharp drop in luxury sales hitting profits at stores like Saks Inc and Nordstrom.
When Opeka launched a customer appreciation program last year, she hoped for 200 responses in the first three months. Instead, nearly 1,000 people answered.
She also holds a series of workshops in the back of her store, which is dubbed “The Gathering Place business card design.” The fall schedule has included popular workshops entitled “Laughter Yoga” and “Cultivating Self Love.”
“Our goal has always been to go beyond retail and make this a place where women can feel good about themselves,” she said over a mug of green tea, as soothing music filled her store.
Libertyville’s residents have included actor Marlon Brando. The grave of King Peter II of Yugoslavia, the only European monarch buried on U.S. soil, is located here. Store owners in other fashionable parts of Chicago, home to the newly wealthy as well as old-oney families, have similar stories to Opeka.
“Not everyone wants to buy a $500 tablecloth in this environment, but they are comfortable buying two pairs of $60 earrings,” said Danah Fisher, owner of Botanica, a store in the upscale Chicago suburb of Oak Park. “It’s not that people are not spending, they’re just spending on different things.”
Sales are up at Fisher’s botanically-themed gift store that stocks goods ranging from a few dollars to $500. She has included more mid-range items and avoided new lines.
“I’m not adding anything new. Why take a risk?” she said.
Fisher has also hosted events for local charities in Oak Park, which is very close to the city and where many wealthy young Chicagoans move to raise families.
GOODBYE, GOOD TIMES
Filed under: money by Forest