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The Gifted Retailer

GDA Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 10/17/2011 10:55:47 AM

Lili Johnstone, merchandiser and manager of Poppy in Columbia, MO, believes doing something out of the ordinary that gets people talking is the best advertising.

Gifts & Decorative Accessories: What do you like best about being a retailer? Poppy
Lili Johnstone: The constant busyness and creative stimulation from artists and customers. I love getting to talk to people about art everyday and brainstorm with other artists. There is never a dull moment.

G&DA: What was the most valuable piece of business advice that you ever received?
LJ: Don't be afraid to go outside the "norm"; take risks. Customers are always hungry for something new and different. Sometimes doing something that seems unbelievable can be a great success or it can be not so lucrative but definitely gets people talking which is the best advertising.

G&DA: What is/was your most successful promotion?
LJ: We are celebrating 30 years in business. We are just finishing a 30 day sale where we have featured our longest represented artist, Ed Levin each day, as well as a different artist everyday. The featured artists' work was 20 percent off on their day and anyone who purchased a featured artist's work received a chance to win a pair Ed Levin sterling silver earrings. We sent an email with the calendar of featured artists, as well as posting them each day on Facebook and Twitter. We have had many participants and September sales were up from last year.

Poppy G&DA: What three products/lines are you best sellers?
LJ: Well generally speaking, greeting cards are our best sellers. There probably isn't a day that goes by that we don't sell a bunch of cards. But specifically, our most popular lines are probably Stick's furniture, Maruca Design's bags and accessories, and Clara Beau Jewelry.

G&DA: What are you doing to attract new customers?
LJ: Being in a small college town, word of mouth is very important as our customer base is constantly evolving. We produce four or so television commercials each year. We have sponsored some local festivals that have started receiving national and international attention. Usually sponsoring festivals includes creating displays related to the festivals, donating small gift items for swag bags for festival musicians and filmmakers, and offering a special discount for festival-goers.

G&DA: What was your most effective display?
LJ: We have a jewelry artist, Moira K. Lime, that we had carried for a year or so and she had a new line of work she wanted to debut at Poppy. So we created a trunk show display that visually married her new desert line to her botanical line. We handmade all of her earring cards from recycled paper and some new sand paper. We filled vessels with sand and desert rose plants. We drew attention to the case by placing a large cactus made out of foam-core, fabric and pearl-tipped straight pins. Her sales have increased by 15 percent so far in 2011, and we have had to re-order her work twice.

G&DA: How do you find your best employees?
LJ: We are pretty lucky that amazing employees find us. Most of our employees originally were loyal customers and Poppy friends. We normally use the old-fashioned method of putting a sign in our window and we get flooded with resumes. We do ask that people provide resumes rather than filling out a standard application. This generally shows us who puts out the extra effort and allows people's creative side to shine.

G&DA: What was your biggest retail problem and how did you solve it?
LJ: The biggest retail problem is that Christmas comes but once a year.

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I would like to know where this GDA "reporter" got their information. Poppy has just celebrated its 30th year in business. I have been the owner for each of those thirty years....and still am. Lili Johnstone is NOT the owner nor is she in line to be the owner. I would appreciate some sort of comment or retraction from you.
Barbara McCormick - 2011-10-23 22:20:05 EDT

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