Stores Magazine - October 2007 - (Page 90) NUTS AND BOLTS / CREDIT Prestige Plus Perks Customer benefits help high-end store get its credit card into well-padded wallets BY LAURI GIESEN hen a retailer is selling high-end merchandise to an exclusive clientele, its private-label credit card operation has to be in line with its retail operations. Customer service offered to cardholders must be comparable to that offered in the store, and customers must associate carrying the store’s card with a high level of prestige. W Furthermore, because high-end shoppers have a world of credit options, the store card has to offer perks that are competitive with the rewards programs available on a national level. Not being able to offer these benefits was the primary reason Red Bank, N.J., apparel retailer Garmany dropped its original credit card program in the early 1980s. “In the past, we used a third-party credit card service provider that did not treat our customers the way we wanted them treated,” says company president Larry Garmany. “If a customer was a couple days late with a payment, they would call them up and talk to them in a way that was not nice.” About 18 months ago, however, Garmany revived its store credit card through Mahwah, N.J.-based Shoppers Charge Accounts (SCA). And this time around, the customer service associated with the card matches that of the store’s operations. 90 STORES / OCTOBER 2007 “Our objective is to give customers a great level of service on their card and give them something they could not get otherwise – 90-days-same-as-cash and 2 percent back on purchases,” Garmany says. “And that’s just what we’ve been able to do.” In 2005, the company moved from a 7,500-sq.-ft. store to a neighboring 38,000-sq.-ft. building that had previously housed a Bon-Ton department store. It offers a select assortment of men’s and women’s designer apparel and accessories that come from top clothing designers, including Canali, Prada, Armani, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Marc Jacobs, Dolce & Gabbana, Lanvin, Burberry, Bulgari and Stella McCartney. And Garmany strives to create a shopping environment befitting the labels it carries. The store has a lounge/bar serving hot, cold and alcoholic beverages to customers, as well as a video area that entertains children while their parents WWW.STORES.ORG http://WWW.STORES.ORG
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