Winter 2021 - 107

RETAILER PROFILE
Located in the heart of the French Quarter, fashionable dogs can
find their best Mardi Gras costumes and New Orleans Saints gear
at Southern Paws.
Quarter, our team must plan orders to arrive on the sales
floor 'just in time.' "
Michele Spansel is the owner of Southern Paws New Orleans
Pet Boutique and Barkery.
2019, " said Spansel. " The mall most often attracts cruise
ship travelers and convention attendees, with its proximity
to the convention center and cruise terminal. "
Featuring a colorful mix of pet outfits and accessories,
both locations feature gourmet treats in a bakery counter
display, and even sell fresh ice cream from a cooler just
for dogs. The local theme toys, barkery treats, and locally
made bandanas are most popular. " They make great
souvenirs for visitors to bring back home, " Spansel said.
There is also an expansive collection of human gifts such
as socks and lounge pants, water bottles and glassware,
stickers, wall art, rugs and door mats. Spansel says they
have adjusted the pet to human product ratio based on
response from their customer base. It's approximately
70% pets versus 30% human, she explained.
Space comes at a premium in the French Quarter
and Spansel must be selective when displaying and
merchandising her store with limited square footage.
" We have learned to curate our product assortment with
our customer and space constraints in mind, " she said.
" Over the past four years, we have refined our product
offerings while also introducing new and seasonal items.
With limited or no warehousing space in the French
" In a non-pandemic year, I will attend as many shows
as possible from the Atlanta Market Gift and Home
show, Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Dallas Total Home
and Gift Market, and Las Vegas for SuperZoo and general
gift, " said Spansel, who is also a buyer for Roux Royale,
a kitchen and housewares boutique located a few doors
down from Southern Paws. " Because I buy for multiple
stores and concepts, I get to see a larger variety of
products. I love finding what's new and different, and in
order to find it, you have to go to market. "
An online e-commerce site was just a long-range plan
before the pandemic hit. Like many small businesses,
Spansel was forced to fast-track the process in order
to keep her customers supplied with pet essentials. A
small silver lining, she is glad to have her website and
online store up and running now as it has brought in
new customers.
When asked what the future holds for Southern Paws,
Spansel shares that they are always looking to expand,
however, in the year of Covid-19, they are holding out for
the perfect location. " We hope to expand as opportunity
presents itself. We have also had several franchise inquiries
that are under consideration, " she added. That's good
news for pet lovers everywhere.
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GIFTSHOPMAG.COM 107
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Winter 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Winter 2021
