Owners of local shops take individual tacks
Common theme: Price isn’t everything
Saturday, November 28, 2009
LITTLE ROCK — While national big-box retailers offered monster deals Friday on toys and electronics, regional stores focused on more modest offers during what is billed as the biggest shopping day of the year.
Mindful that the doorbusting crush wouldn’t happen at their stores, as it does at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., regional retailers instead focused on quality and availability.
Melody’s Choices, a longstanding specialty shop with locations in Fayetteville and Rogers, offered a few deals, such as a reduced price on a toy fire truck made in Germany.
But for the most part, store owner Steve Melody relies on the fact that much of his merchandise, like Pandora jewelry and Department 56 figurines, can’t be found at Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart.
His task is to make sure he has a lot of what people want.
“You have to watch carefully and see what’s moving,” he said. “We read the sales reports daily.”
In business for nearly 40 years, Melody said he knows the rules of retail.
“It’s hard to compete with the big boxes,” he said. To survive, Melody said he has to make sure his inventory is diverse and well stocked so that customers have a choice.
If a potential customer saw something they liked when they came into the store a month ago, it’s important to have that item on the shelf when they return withChristmas money.
Down the road at Maude Boutique in Fayetteville, customers who spent more than $100 got a free scarf, hat or pair of gloves. The special was promoted on the Internet and through direct mail. Shortly before noon, a handful of girls and their mothers were in the store looking at dresses and accessories.
“We’re not going to be like Best Buy or Wal-Mart,” said store owner Becca Brisiel.
She said Black Friday is not usually the store’s busy day anyway. Maude gets busy during fall, when sororities at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville have a lot of social functions and when the Razorbacks play at home.
Maude also picks up in the spring, said Brisiel, before Mom’s Day, an annual Greek event.
Jade Terminella, owner of Lola Boutique in Fayetteville, offered 25-percent discounts on jackets, coats and other outerwear. But she didn’t expect the deal to dramatically increase sales.
“Everybody’s out buying TVs,” she said. “We rarely have a rush on Black Friday.” Customers at Lewis & Clark Outfitters, with locations in Springdale and Rogers, were treated to sales on bikes. Co-owner Rob Potts said he made sure to be well stocked so customers didn’t have to arrive early in the morning for deals.
Friday receipts were good.
“We’re ahead of where we were last year,” Potts said.
In addition to the bike sale, patrons had a chance to help Arkansas troops being deployed to Afghanistan. For each two-pack of wool hiking socks purchased by a customer, the store donated one pair to the troops.
“The customers are loving it,” he said. “We wanted to take this opportunity to take care of the troops.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 11/28/2009
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