With his store stocked with handmade jewelry and hard-to-find home furnishings, Tim Vancha is optimistic about the holiday shopping season.
Vancha, who owns Surrender, a gift shop in Chicago, doesn’t sound at all uneasy when he talks about business, unlike many of the country’s big retailers who have had an uninspiring season so far. He said his sales are running 10 percent to 15 percent ahead of the 2003 holiday season, when business was already up a huge 30 percent to 40 percent.
Independent retailers such as Vancha have found ways to thrive in an industry that’s increasingly dominated by big chains such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Gap. Using a mixture of unique merchandise and superior service – and even an emotional connection with customers – these stores find that retailing doesn’t have to be a struggle.
Vancha says he caters to an eclectic clientele, selling unusual items for the home, jewelry made by artists and bath and body goods. His inventory changes frequently, and that keeps customers coming back.
“I don’t buy the same things over and over again,” he said. “What you see this week, you might not see next week.”
Toy retailers have to differentiate themselves from Wal-Mart – or find themselves in the same tight spot as Toys R Us Inc., which despite its own size has lost market share to the big discounter.
Linda Ambrosino, who owns G. Willikers, a toy store in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., as well as stores in nearby Albany and in Kennebunkport, Maine, describes her inventory as “a more unique kind of toys, powered by children’s imagination.”
“I cannot beat them (Wal-Mart) pricewise, so I stay away from anything mass market,” she said.
So far this season, Ambrosino said, she’s happy with business. But she added a caveat: “It’s not over till it’s over – a snowstorm in Saratoga Springs can knock us out for an entire day.”
Selling unique products also works for Ava Allen, owner of Be Beep, A Toy Shop in Columbia, S.C. When Wal-Mart started selling Lego blocks some years ago, she stopped.
She also reports a strong season so far: “We’re pretty much running out of stock, but that’s OK. … I’m still ordering.”
Perhaps the biggest advantage that independent retailers have over mega-competitors is that they can offer more personal customer service.
Ambrosino said her staff waits on customers individually, a luxury the big chains can’t provide. Employees also carry packages to customers’ cars and will deliver merchandise to their homes.
At Kandor and Lavender, a Boise, Idaho, gift retailer, “we try to kill everyone with kindness,” said employee Karen Christeson, noting that if the store doesn’t have what a customer is looking for, “we’ll find products for them.”
So far, the store, which competes with Pottery Barn, is having a good season, Christeson said, although many customers aren’t expected to do their shopping until the final week.
At Zinman’s Furs, which has eight stores in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, business has been good for three reasons: fashion, sales events and service that continues long after a purchase, president JoAnn Morgan said.
This season, fur is fashionable, with shoppers looking not just for coats and jackets, but also for fur-trimmed accessories including handbags, Morgan said. She also reported that more men are interesting in wearing fur.
But Zinman’s has worked to bring customers in, running sales promotions that drew customers back in October, when many people weren’t yet thinking about cold weather.
Morgan said the company’s business also has benefited from services such as storage, cleaning and repair. Customers pay for them, but it keeps their relationship with the retailer ongoing.
Some independents find they have another edge: an emotional bond with customers.
Josephs Jewelers, with three locations in the Des Moines, Iowa, area, is a 133-year-old, family-owned business that uses its deep roots to build its business and maintain long-term relationships with customers.
“We’re very active in the community from a charity standpoint,” owner John Joseph said, explaining that he believes customers will support a business that gives something back to its neighbors.
He also noted that nearly a third of his 80 employees have been with the company for more than 15 years.
“They have established a great rapport with customers – there’s a trust there,” said Joseph, adding that business has been strong since Election Day.
At Simply Scandinavian, a shop in Portland, Maine, co-owner Mary Grant said, “We’re not just selling the products, we’re selling the whole experience.”
Grant said her store’s Scandinavian goods, which include pastries and other food, offer shoppers a level of comfort.
“That’s why folks keep coming back,” she said, noting that her business has grown largely by word-of-mouth endorsements.
As holiday shopping neared the final days before Christmas, Grant said: “We’re feeling very optimistic about the season and the new year.”
Building Small Business is a weekly column on the topic by the Associated Press.
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