STORES Magazine - May 2008 - (Page 105)

CONSIDER THIS / LOEB RETAIL LETTER Copyright 2008 by Loeb Associates Inc. Used by permission. How to Mold a Boutique Business BY WALTER LOEB There is a small store in New York City that has very big plans. Fame New York is located at 512 Seventh Avenue, in the heart of Manhattan’s Garment District. It is only about 1,000 sq. ft. in size, but it has great appeal for fashion-conscious young customers seeking dresses, separates and handbags. During peak times the store employs live models to feature fashion. The merchandise is always vibrant and timely, but I think the most important factor is that this little store is always fashion-right. It has generated a solid following, and the large show windows allow for the latest fashions to be displayed in an appealing way so that it attracts the casual shopper, as well. (According to management, Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA have shopped in the store.) have trusted employees in place in every store and must have reports about the rate of sale and the inventory, both in unit and dollar amounts. It is not yet time to install sophisticated and expensive data controls – the return doesn’t justify it — but the owner must know what is (and isn’t) selling every day in each location. Walter F. Loeb is a New Yorkbased consultant and member of the NRF board of directors whose newsletter is published monthly in STORES. Expanding its reach Fame New York is owned by Lee Kashani, who operated several Seventh Avenue apparel companies (including Le Chaton and New York Apple) before opening this store six years ago. He is Inventory controls are much more difficult to concentrating on a few contemporary and Eumanage in multiple locations: management must ropean labels, including Casting-Paris, Rinascimento and Nicole Miller, as well as have trusted employees in place in every store and handbags by Adrienne Vittadini. Kashani, must have reports about the rate of sale and the who does all the buying, believes in conceninventory, both in unit and dollar amounts trating on a limited number of suppliers in order to get faster delivery of new styles. Kashani has plans to expand the reach of Fame New York through web sales on a site called Fashion Newsstand and is considering a second store on Manhattan’s East Side. It is exciting to see a new store develop in such an exciting way. It goes without saying, of course, that it is much easier to run a single store, since the controls to keep the store’s assortment clean and up to date are all visible to the owner and his associates. Inventory controls are much more difficult to manage in multiple locations: management must WWW.STORES.ORG Return rate I am convinced that the styles of Fame New York will appeal to web shoppers. The merchandise is attractively priced and timely; it is colorful and smart. The site should do well, but there will be the return rate of 30 to 40 percent that management will have to cope with. Most merchandise should be resalable if it comes back in a timely fashion; other returns might have to be sold at a discount. The challenge is to resell the merchandise so that it does not become a liability. Kashani is an entrepreneur who is making friends every day by offering fashion and value to a fashion-conscious customer. I wish him well. STORES / MAY 2008 105 http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - May 2008

Stores - May 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Contrasting C-Level Compensation Across Segments What Shoppers Think 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Cover Story: Concepts That Clicked Concept2Watch Kiosks Artificial Intelligence Tech Support Online LPinformation Data Synchronization Human Resources Site Selection POS Selection Communications Biometrics Networking Systems Credit Loeb Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - May 2008

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