Gifted Retailer: Ambiance Interiors & Gifts
Quinn Halford -- Gifts and Dec, 4/17/2009 12:00:00 AM
Gifted Retailer AMBIANCE INTERIORS & GIFTS of Suwanee, GA, offers upper-middle price point merchandise in 4,500 square feet of selling space located in an historic home. Co-owner PAMELA REEVES talks about her retailing experiences over the nearly 10 years her shop has been in business.
Gifts & Decorative Accessories: What do you like best about being a retailer?
Pamela Reeves: Going to market and buying a variety of merchandise with our wonderful customers in mind. Knowing that we are in the position to make someone’s day with either a fabulous gift (signature gift-wrapped, of course) or choosing appointments for the home is the best part about retailing. The look on the faces of our clients is worth all the effort!
|
G&DA: What was the most valuable piece of business advice that you ever received?
PR: First of all, listen to what the customer is saying before interjecting opinions, ideas or other thoughts. In the end, this saves time and lets them know that they are important and will be heard, and hopefully understood, resulting in many profitable transactions between the two parties. Second, use a good POS system to track all aspects of business from the onset and make sure all programs are backed up every day!
G&DA: What is, or was, your most successful promotion?
PR: Two promotions have worked very well for us. “Gallery on the Green” is an event that we did when we had an over-abundance of artwork in stock. Because our store is situated on a lush piece of property, we also carry garden furniture and pavilions. After hanging artwork around the pavilion, we set up a champagne station and served the bubbly while our clients enjoyed a day in the gardens viewing art. We intend to repeat the event this year and also invite several art vendors to showcase their work without having to add to our inventory.
Then there’s our “Free Lunch/Brunch (day of the week or holiday).” It’s an ongoing event that we do at least twice a month and every Thursday in November and December. Always themed around calendar events, we only serve food from the gourmet lines we sell. This allows our customers to taste different items before buying. This is a great success as sales improve two to three times over the average during these events.
G&DA: What three products or lines are your best sellers?
|
PR: CBK’s unique, well priced photo frames and personal gifts. Trapp Private Garden Candles: It was the first candle line that we carried and is consistently our best selling candle. Also One Coast collegiate baby gifts and MudPie, along with tabletop, serving pieces, and bakeware. We use the serving pieces whenever we serve food in our store.
G&DA: What has been your most effective display?
PR: Large “trees” molded to a wall in our jewelry boutique. Necklaces, bracelets, and other items hang off the branches showcasing jewels of every woman’s life.
G&DA: What are you doing to attract new customers?
PR: We drive “Dottie,” our polka-dotted H2 Hummer, that matches our signature gift wrap, everywhere! Public-speaking at various clubs, playing tennis and golf with charity teams, donating merchandise to worthy causes, serving as board members for Hudgens Center for The Arts and Chamber of Commerce events are just a few of the activities that we participate in to promote sales and overall goodwill. Interacting for a common cause has been highly effective in drawing business into our store.
We are also located in an 1870’s home in the historic part of a town that was named a “Top Ten Place to Live” by CNN “Money Magazine.” The fact that the house is painted pink and surrounded by pristine gardens draws in the curious.
|
G&DA: How do you find your best employees?
PR: We put out the “A” (“accepting applications”) word to our email client base, which numbers more than 5,000. Even if the recipient isn’t looking for a job they usually know someone who is and will forward the info to them.
G&DA: What was your biggest retail problem and how did you solve it?
PR: Tracking sales, purchase orders, and inventory, as well as receiving and shipping merchandise was a challenge when we first opened in our present location and operated with hand-written documentation. We purchased our first POS system a year after opening, did a physical inventory, entered all the items, and began tracking all retail activity. See my response to “the most valuable piece of business advice that you ever received?”
We would love your feedback!
-
Gifted Retailer: Curious Sofa
May 1, 2009 -
The Gifted Retailer
Sep 21, 2011 -
Doing More With Less
Jun 1, 2009
Featured Company
-
FurnitureCore.com
FurnitureCore.com is a dynamic web application aimed at the furniture industry. Retailers and manufacturers alike will find our deep reserve of tools to be exactly what their furniture business needs.www.furniturecore.com... more
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
