Store Front Window and Feature Displays -

Decide Install dates and themes based on product selected, and guaranteed in store delivery.

You know the products that are coming, and you also know that good displays, with great product, drive sales. So, plan out your window displays.

Retail Makeover: Barbara reviews product mix in Debbie's store

Great Back-Stories Makes Buying Fun

 Great Back-Stories make buying fun.  What's a Back-Story?  It's the story behind an object or product.  In your home it's the objects that family and friends are drawn to.  The objects that stimulate questions as to their origin.  And, you immediately begin relaying the story behind the item . . . its history, who gave it to you, where you purchased it.  Did you find it on vacation?  These Back-Stories then become the Front-Story.

Suburban Hill,  the " Hill" is the retail store Suburban Silk operates near Boulder Colorado in an Urbanist contemporary designed master planned neighborhood mixed with urban architecture homes and retail. We have operated our store for 2 years in its present location but a better more convenient to traffic pattern location has come available to us.  Now centrally located near the " central park" in the development, we are moving next weekend over the Holloween Weekend.  3 blocks to move and sometimes we think moving shorter distances is more complicated, we have come up with a great way to involve our neighborhood regular shoppers and get a little free newspaper publicity.

We have invited our current customers thru email blasts to help us move...  " We cordially invite you to help us move sometime Friday 10am to Sun 3pm to pick up a full carton, box of inventory, your end of a table, help navigate a fixture on a dolly to the new store location and you will receive a $ 20.00 gift certificate.".  What a great response we have already received in advance of our move next week.  Anonymously we have sent out a blurb to the local newspapers and have assured they will show up for photo and a human interest story of how a neighborhood pulled together to help a local retail/gift store move to a better location.

World-wide independent business is the new local independent business.  Today, independent brick and mortar business owners order products from all over the world.  But this does not lessen the value of what it means to buy local.  I want the potatoes that I buy at my independent food store from Iowa, and the Tomatoes I buy from the same store from New Jersey - and I still want to consider that I'm buying local.  How's this possible?

The local community now encompasses the entire globe.  For example the www.GHMConnect.com promotes independent business owners to buy local wholesale, from around the world. (1) I find it exciting to bring the independent global community home.  If you visit the website you'll see hundreds of beautiful specialty items, all made from independent business owners. As an independent retailer, it's beneficial to support independent business world-wide.

Mark Duffield said a wise man told him long ago, "Don't make a sale. Make a friend." So when Duffield and business partner Jennifer Hill bought Blackstone's of Beacon Hill in April 2006, they put that maxim into practice.

When I spoke with Duffield and Hill, it was a long time before we ever got around to talking about merchandise, buying, marketing and promotions. Instead, they wanted to talk about their customers-- locals and tourists alike--who hang out and share stories with the owners. Their store is the first stop for one repeat customer traveling from England.

"There are a million 'small-world' stories," Hill said. Recent visitors from Ohio turned out to be neighbors of her parents.

Blackstone's was one of four 2009 recipients of the Pride of New England Awards given by the Boston Gift Show. The award recognizes New England retailers for outstanding customer service, creative merchandising, community involvement and demonstration of New England pride.

In 2008 sales fell 3.4% during the holiday rush.  In 2009 sales are speculated to be weakened by 1%.   The Baltimore Sun is reporting that some economists believe consumers are going to continue spending on a budget during the holiday season.  The Sun is also reporting, however, that other economists are speculating consumers have been saving for the holiday season, and will resume penny pinching once it is over. (1)

With all the, he-says-she-says speculation on the less than a month away holiday season, how can Independent Retailers prepare for the holiday rush?

Because of the economic events over the past year, we have all seen a shift in personal spending. We pointed this out in a recent blog - The New Normal.

The good news for retailers is that spending is still going on, even among affluent shoppers who make up 20% of the nation’s households but account for 40% of all spending. They have just changed their buying habits like the rest of us.

Gifts for Less and a whole lot more, that is our motto!

http://www.dominiquegiftshop.com

Home furnishings promotion launches