Gifted Retailer: JB Winterberry
By Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 8/25/2009 12:05:00 PM
JB Winterberry opened its doors in 2002 with just 700 square feet. Two years later the store grew to 3,200 square feet and another 2,000 just one year later in 2005. With more than 5,200 square feet of retail space, JB Winterberry offers its customers a wide selection of gifts and home accessories, including a selection of antiques. JULIE LANCIA talks to Gifts & Decorative Accessories about her experiences as a successful indpendent gift retailer.
GIFTS & DECORATIVE ACCESSORIES: What do you like best about being a retailer?
JULIE LANCIA: The best thing that my mom and I like best about being retailers is having a place of our own to showcase our creativity and share it with others. Being able to do what we love has been a dream come true.
We are very blessed to take our passion for antiques & home decor and display them in a way that makes people want to do the same in their own homes. Being your own boss is a huge benefit too.
G&DA: What was the most valuable piece of business advice that you ever received?
JL: The most valuable business advice that we ever received was to do what you love because there you will find success. When your heart is in your work, you never look at the negative but only create more ways to keep improving. I don't think we've ever thought that we can't do this, it never even entered our minds. And of course, the old adage "location, location, location", it really is a true business motto. You can have a great idea for a retail store but you need to put it where customers can discover you easily. People definitely still err on the side of convenience and will visit you more often for this benefit.
G&DA: What is/was your most successful promotion?
JL: Our most successful promotion over the last seven years would be our Fall and Christmas Premiers. During this promotion, we close down for three to four days, tear apart all three shops and transform them into holiday masterpieces. It takes a lot of work but the customers truly flock to the store after we've been closed for those few days. It builds excitement and also a sense of urgency to get in and buy the best merchandise before it's gone. The second best promotion has been a holiday open house which we created with a few other shops in 
town. Banding together with other gift shops the first weekend in December to hold our open houses on the same day has created a holiday stir in the downtown. Many town chambers put this together, but ours had never done it. So we did it ourselves and for four years it has been truly successful. We do try to hold an event each month and try to come up with a least two brand new ones each year. It keeps us hopping!
G&DA: What three products/lines are you best sellers?
JL: Our best selling lines would have to be signs by Sawdust City and Danielson Design, candles by Archipelago and Votivo, home decor by Imax and Raz, florals by Sullivan's and Melrose, and miscellaneous holiday by Tag and Round Top Collection. We have bought from 285 vendors over the years. Some have been truly unique and others have just been awful. However, the above mentioned companies have been carried through the years due to their interesting product lines, constant new merchandise and terrific customer service. These days, great wholesale companies are getting harder to find especially ones that truly appreciate your business and understand the trials and tribulations that we small gift shops are going through.
G&DA: What are you doing to attract new customers?
JL: We are attracting new customers by beginning various new services and making ourselves more accessible on the web. We began an in-home decorating service as well as offer seminars "on the road" to women's groups on topics dedicated to decorating and gift giving. We continue to sell out each month with our in store 
seminars that encompass a wide variety of topics. This summer we recruited unique handmade artists to do two "Summer Artisan Faires" in our shop and even had a local musician set up an autograph session. We are selling vintage items on www.jbwinterberry.etsy.com. We are twittering on Twitter.com. Finally, a blogspot has been created highlighting special events, store information, photos and even fun polls to chime in on. We are trying to make ourselves known in a large variety of venues without spending a lot of money. This fall we have volunteered to decorate homes on two housewalks in order to introduce our shop to a new community.
G&DA: What was your most effective display?
JL: Our most effective display was during Easter. We hung an old bicycle from the ceiling over our main display table and had a quirky bunny driving it. Below was grass, flowers, Easter baskets, eggs, etc. The first 
day after it was finished, a customer bought the bicycle and the table. It didn't last very long. Our other display that drew oohs and ahhs was our haunted dining room table for Halloween. A long black table set for a ghostly dinner with china and glassware. The bowls were filled with sand and eyeballs. Overhead floated black picture frames and chairs. Everything, and we mean everything, was then covered in tons of spider webs. You couldn't buy much, but it looked incredible.
G&DA: How do you find your best employees?
JL: We have been extremely lucky in finding our employees. First we pulled from our family and friends, next we pulled from their families and friends, then we recruited some of our best customers after we had been open awhile. Your true good customers are excellent employees because they become your best cheerleaders and promoters of the merchandise you sell because they have probably already purchased it for themselves. Women heavily involved in your town can be very beneficial employees also.
G&DA: What was your biggest retail problem and how did you solve it?
JL: Our biggest retail problem is occurring right now in this depressed economy. The big economy bug has taken its bite out of us. We are doing what we can to stay afloat. As mentioned above, our new services stem from the need for customers. We are learning to buy better and be more streamlined. Our overstock has diminished considerably. We may be downsizing after January in order to come through this recession bigger and better. Retailers really have their work cut out for them this year. Reorganizing and getting back to basics will help carry us through. As you read in many journals, customers are doing the same. They are becoming simpler and very money conscious. As retailers we must realize this and provide help to customers in these areas. Carry more affordable gifts and stay simple but, remember to stay fresh and unique.
We would love your feedback!
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