Do you carry or plan to add younger-focused products to build your next generation of customers?
-- Gifts and Dec, 5/1/2010 12:00:00 AM
Elizabeth Howard
The Cordial Cricket
Chester, Virginia
We do carry some gift merchandise for both babies and children, and we have steadily increased those items because they do tend to sell very well for us. Because we sell both invitations and a large amount of gift merchandise, versus just a paper store, we are lucky in the fact that we are able to start with customers as brides, see them have their first child and do their birth announcements, and then keep them as they buy gifts for their children and their friends as they grow up. Our customers run the full age spectrum from kids to great-grandmothers, so we try to have a wide range of gift merchandise to accommodate their needs regardless of age, to a reasonable degree.
Ted Kennedy Watson
Watson Kennedy
Seattle, WA
Since I opened 12 years ago, I have always bought with a wide age range of customer in mind. I have always felt that good taste is applicable whether you are 20 or 80. Our product mix is quite varied, and you either get what I am going for, or you don't. The Hugo Guinness linoleum cut print of a rotary phone is going to appeal [as much] to an older customer and collector, as it will to a younger customer who sees it as something cool to add to their new apartment. A Diptyque candle is a staple to many of our clients who want the very finest candle, while some of our customers save up a bit to buy one — they still want the best, at any age. When the shops are mentioned in articles or blogs, they are described as old world, hip and eclectic, and classic. That is quite a range, and I think speaks to the goods and feel of what I am going for. I think it also encompasses quite a range of customers, both young and old.
Steven Lora
MOTIF Modern Living
Austin & San Antonio, TX
I'm not sure we've thought that far ahead. Our stores are less than five years old, so we haven't begun planning for the next generation of shoppers — we're still focused on attracting their parents. Many of our customers do have young children, and at one point we carried a beautiful line of contemporary children's furniture. It didn't sell, however, and we discontinued it. Our theory was that customers did not expect to find children's furniture at MOTIF, so when they were looking for it they did not think of us, and seemed reluctant to spend as much on children's furniture as they would on furniture for the rest of their home, since their kids would only use it for a few years. We realized that as an independent retailer we would not be able to compete effectively against category killers like Babies 'R Us. We learned to concentrate on our strengths, rather than diluting our efforts.
We would love your feedback!
-
Mix It Up
Apr 1, 2008
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
