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The Gifted Retailer

GDA Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 12/8/2011 11:16:18 AM

Susan Hoechner, co-owner of Barbara Stewart Interiors in Bowling Green, KY, advises to find out what your competitors' weaknesses are and go after it.

Gifts and Decorative Accessories: What do you like best about being a retailer?
Susan Hoechner: It has to be the customers and partnering with other retailers and vendors. Our customers are our friends and I enjoy providing a product or a service that makes them happy. Joining the family business has allowed me to work with my mentor, my mother, Barbara Stewart.

GDA: What was the most valuable piece of business advice that you ever received?
SH: Don't ever stop! What that means to me is...don't stop doing what it takes to get the job done. It takes a long time and a lot of work to build a successful retail business. It is not a 9 to 5 job. I love what I do; therefore it is not work to me. It seems that every day I learn something new about a product or a new skill.

GDA: What is/was your most successful promotion?
SH: Our Christmas Open House is an event that attracts our customers to see our holiday decor. Every year our stores are decorated in different themes. We serve fabulous food and drink and have drawings for door prizes and gift certificates.

GDA: What three products/lines are your best sellers?
SH: We have two stores, Barbara Stewart Interiors carries tabletop, gifts, home accessories and furnishings. Our Invitations on Main carries invitations, stationery, gifts and home accessories.

At Barbara Stewart Interiors: Company C Rugs, The Uttermost Company, Wesley Hall Furniture

At Invitations on Main-Crane & Co., William Arthur and Lilly Pulitzer

GDA: What are you doing to attract new customers?
SH: All forms of social media especially email. Our birthday club has attracted new customers; we offer a substantial discount for their birthday month, in exchange for their email.

GDA: What was your most effective display?
SH: That is really hard to say. We decorate our windows several times a month. We will use motion or colored lights to attract attention. One of my favorite Christmas displays was a pair of Snow people named Snowfia & Willie Melt.

GDA: How do you find your best employees?
SH: We have employees discover us, as well as through our customers' referrals.

GDA: What was your biggest retail problem and how did you solve it?
SH: We lost a major vendor product line at the will of the vendor, therefore we had to reevaluate our product mix and go in another direction

GDA: How is the current economy affecting your business? Barbara Stewart Interiors
SH: It is a very challenging time for small business retailers. We are competing against big box stores, internet businesses and vendors selling online. We strive to carry a variety of quality products at different price points.

GDA: What advice would you give to a struggling retailer?
SH: Stay involved locally. We participate in many programs, i.e. buy local program, charity events, chamber of commerce, which has a connection back to our customers. Talk to your customers and find out what they want from you as a retailer. What items are they looking for? What hours do they need to shop? Figure out what your competitors' weak points are and go after it!

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