Boring Store Makes Good
Matthew Kalash -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 2/1/2001
As they say, "Sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never hurt you." Rolando Cuadrado, owner of Sticks & Stones gift stores in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, has proved that certain names might even help, if the name-calling is done in the right spirit. In 1998, while arranging a display of decorative letters in one of his gift stores, Cuadrado playfully came up with the slogan "Just Another Boring Store," to poke fun at the idea of self-promotion. At the time, he thought nothing of the catchphrase. Two years later, "Just Another Boring Store" has become-literally-the calling card for the Sticks & Stones chain, appearing on everything from business cards to delivery trucks to the jelly beans that cashiers give away with every purchase. According to Cuadrado, some people do a double take when they first read it, but most simply chuckle, and everyone appreciates the irreverent, self-confident tone of "Just Another Boring Store." Since 1998, sales increased nearly 20 percent, and Cuadrado opened two new stores. The slogan has become a conspicuous design element in all four Sticks & Stones stores. This is one "boring store" that apparently isn't boring.
