The Retail Maverick

Good news at the Mix!

2009-06-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

So FINALLY there is some good news at the Mix! The receivers have significantly lowered our rents.. and it is about time. I guess that they realize that if we all leave as tenants, they are going to have to re-tenant it at the going rate anyway so they might as well work with their existing clientele. This is great news, especially going into summer.. Rent is not the biggest drain on finances (no surprise, that honor goes to inventory) but it is significant and monthly and it really makes me want to stay here now that the rent is lower. I have considered moving but really, I would have to set up in another area and go thru all the crap associated with that. Now, if personal issues in my life force me to do that, I will but for right now, this place is good... oh, and I got more cowboy hats in! They are soo darn cute and each one is made specific for my store.

I just wish it was November already and getting a little chilly.. this heat really BITES it.

Tie Dye!

2009-06-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

So.. I am in love with tie-dye. There. I have said it. And, I am actually even embarrassed to say that I remember it from the 70's. But that tie-dye was hippie, Grateful Dead-attending, eye-searingly bright colors- serioiusly waaay too much. Now? Just night and day different. I have so many great colors in dresses in different styles.. ya gotta love it.

Michelle Jonas: One of my FAVORITE designers.. her stuff is amazing and sells out so fast.. great fits and just about anyone can wear them. We have got the open- back keyhole dress.. in turquoise and royal blue as well as persimmon and tangerine coming in at the end of the month. We also have the Long Irena dress which is hands down for me the sexiest long dress I have ever worn. Plus, it feels sooo soft.. modal cotton and it feels like I am wearing a nightgown. Right now we have that in the royal blue/turquoise and have it coming in lemon/lime and the persimmon/tangerine.. by the end of the month..

Upstyle: New designer from LA.. just got in her roll-over tube dress in dark purple/eggplant. Super sexy and versatile as you can wear it either as a dress or down at your hips as a long skirt. Plus, the price point on this one is super reasonable.. $119... this one you just can't miss.

So rock on and bring the 70s back.. but waay more hip!

Hats Hats Hats!

2009-05-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

SO I LOVE hats! I am getting two types in.. fedoras and cowboy hats!

So what is up with fedoras! They are flippin cute and I can't seem to keep them in stock. Such a great hat and it looks good on everyone. I am getting some in in brown, black, white and cream. Kinda urban/edgy with a cool vibe.

Cowboy hats are great for the pool. This is my thinkin- there are 3 types of hats you can wear at the pool: you got your big floppy hat, your baseball cap, and your cowboy. Seriously, the floppy hat makes you look like an older woman and the baseball is a little too casual. But you put a cowboy hat on with a great bikini and suddenly sexy! The ones I have have crowns on the top and/or fleur de lys and other similar styles. .. natural colors of course to go with everything. I have them custom made by a really cool older lady with pink hair! Literally pink! but she has good hat taste!!!

Summer is here! Ick!!!

2009-05-21T15:29:00.000-07:00

Wow, is it just me or did summer just kick us in the pants? I mean, wasn't it like 85 last week and then BAM! 105 . The good news is that just makes it easier and more sensible to come into the store, pick out a little dress or shorts outfit and head out to the pool for a barbecue. Or, find some great little dress that travels well for your vacation trip to the tropics. We have been getting in the cutest little dresses and rompers. Ok, I am going to show my age but helloo!!! Back to the eighties and I LOVE IT!! What I really like about rompers (and dresses for that matter) is that you can wear one outfit and that is it.. no trying to find a bottom (or top), coordinating just means finding the right cool jewelry.

And the maxis.. btw, that is soo funny. New name for long dresses.. but they ARE different. Now designers are using non-fussy fabrics and easy modal cottons so what used to be considered a "dressy" look has become something easy that everyone (including moms) can wear.

So gotta go.. what an amazing day today is.. the weather is just great! I hold myself personally responsible as whenever that happens it is because I am working all day. You can all thank me later..
Ciao!

More drama at the Mix!!

2009-05-14T10:49:00.000-07:00

So this is getting to be fun.. when we lost so many stores at the Mix, so many new lines opened up and now I am getting the chance to carry some of the lines that I REALLY want.. that is great! Someone elses' bad luck is always someone else's good right??

So I have some great new lines coming in for fall! yeah!!! I am getting in Single, Stella & Jamie, Krisa, Iron, Sheri Bodell, Tova and Bailey 44!!!

Details....

Single: wonderful, great dresses and tops in delicious printed silks
Stella & Jamie: fun dresses, maxis, tops and skirts all with great leather details and studs
Krisa: Resonably priced dresses and tops with maximum flair for minimum price
Iron: Beautiful special dresses and tops
Sheri Bodell: Gorgeous and sexily sophisticated knit dresses that are amazing on!
Tova: The BEST jewelry line (besides my own of course!) with agate necklaces and bracelets and they are just AMAZING.
Bailey 44: A full line of beautiful contemporary dresses, tops, pants, cardigans.. you name it and they are all just fantastic to wear..

I am also getting in some great Michelle Jonas piecesfor summer as well as fall!!! Yeah! If you guys have not made it in lately, come in and try on the Long Irena maxi dress by Michelle Jonas (if I can keep it in stock that long that is!).. it is the sexiest long dress I have ever seen, and done up in beautiful all -over bamboo tie dye in a wonderful modal cotton. It's like wearing your nightgown out but waaay sexier!!! I literally cannot keep it in stock!

See ya at the store SOON!!!

So I suck at this! Blogging I mean!

2009-04-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, we have established at this point that I am a crappy blogster. .. (is that a word? should be.. ). I am always forgetting to update this thing.. running the store just takes so much time. I promise to get better.

So this week and last week have been horrible because of my computer. Let me tell you, you have to make certain that if you are backing up, the computer is actually BACKING UP. I found that out the hard way when my computer corrupted last week and I have lost about a month of my Quickbooks info and a day of the POS. Talk about a buzzkill! Plus , I have to talk to the idiots in service over at Intuit. Did I happen to mention that they are in India? So I am talking to some guy in effin Calcutta or something. What with the Indian accent, the long distance connection and the fact that they are woefully inandequate means that I am on the phone with them an average of a few hours every time. I swear, I want to reach thru the phone sometimes and pull that little spot off their forehead. Still having problems and not going to be fixed for a while. Plus, I have to do paychecks and stuff so it sucks. My employee is coming in and I will be working on the computer all day until I get somewhere. Wish me luck!

I just met with a great line, Single, and have some of it coming in for the fall..really pretty dresses and tops- great silk prints. Should be good.. plus, I have just placed an order on more of the Michelle Jonas dresses and tops. There modals are just great! Sexy and great fit and they do some cool tie-dyes and colors. I have just rocked on their long v neck dress in the modal. Think I went thru like 25 of them!

So the Mix is still limping along.. heard some rumors (like that never stops! ) about ownership changing, etc., but we will see. I sure would like it to change. The current landlord just never helps out with anything and we get nada. Zip. The big zero. We are now down to four (yep, count em four) fashion stores. Pretty sad. Started with 18. Had one person who will remain un named come thru the other day and snip that she was surprised I am still open. Oh, and btw HER stores are out of business!! Can you say beotch!!!!????But I guess that is fashion and some of the women in the business..

I will post I promise more and better. Mo Betta!

Long time

2009-02-21T17:44:00.000-08:00

So it has been QUITE a while since I have posted.. life gets like that sometimes I guess.. Boy, alot of things have changed since the last time! The Mix is down another store now! The one next to me, Judge Me Boutique, left in the middle of the nite. That seems to be the way that they all do it. We originally opened with 18 retailers and now we are down to 4! Can you believe???!!! I feel like a trooper! haha. I am STILL here. It seems that the stores where the owner has an active part are the ones still open. So now in terms of fashion retailers, it is me, Amy Inc., Garage and Joy Li. The good thing is that we all offer something different from each other. Garage has great children's clothes, Amy Inc does great contemporary, Joy Li does modern sophisticated clothing and mine is a mix of contemporary and reasonably priced things. So even if there are only 4 left, we are still a nice little mix.

It will be interesting to see how the spring goes.. traffic is down in general because of the economy as well as the store attrition that we have experienced. But I am positive.. you do what you have to do to keep the doors open and lights on.. I can tell you this tho: I am being MUCH more conservative with my buying at this point.

Some new stuff!

2008-10-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

So these are a few of the items (very few pics this second..) that I am getting in for spring... the two lines are Hale Bob, a current favorite, and Gypsy 05, a very celebrity -driven line. I am super excited to have the spring coming! You know, as I started at the Mix, I felt I was kinda the "red -headed stepchild"- meaning I was super low man on the totem pole. I was a new retailer and every one else had their own lines that they already carried which meant I had to scrounge for the other lines . Fast forward a year or so, and 90% of those retailers are gone. Bad for them, good for me...I feel like the little Engine That Could! haha! Anyway, now I have some great lines going forward and I feel like (so far) I am a trooper for making it thus far! As Buzz Lightyear says, " To Infinity and Beyond"! Or onward and upward! (which I actually thought was attributable to Buzz Lightyear but apparently is just an Abraham Lincoln quote) .. I'm having a blond moment..

Good news and Bad News

2008-10-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

First the good....:) So I am back from market in LA! How much fun is that! That is the best part of the job.. the shopping! HELLO! I AM a girl! lol.. Such a great opportunity to see the coming trends and have the opportunity to determine the look and feel of my store.. anyway, I was in LA buying for spring primarily. Wow wow wow, I am excited. I have a lot of new contemporary lines coming in.. I have learned my lesson and I am not going to say what ones until it get closer but trust me, things are changing up at Elan! I have great fabrics, bodies and colors coming in and some great celebrity driven designers! Plus, they are just cute cute cute and sexy as all get out! So keep an eye on the website as I will be changing out(Finally!)the front page.

Now the bad: we lost two (!!!!) more stores at the Mix! Can you believe????? What is with these people! One of them was Jennifer Croll's store! The other was Mirror Boutique. She moved out in the middle of the night. I just don't get that.. how is it that a store can just decide to walk away? I gather she never signed her lease when she moved downstairs. Me, chump that I am, I pay and actually HAVE a lease..lol . Jennifer is just a sad sad story. Two years ago she had it all and now she is getting a divorce, losing her assets and losing her stores! But frankly, her store at the Mix was not carrying anything at the end and now we can get a fresh start! So I am going to think positive! :)

Lots of stuff coming up.. keep tuned!

New week a -comin..

2008-10-05T19:27:00.000-07:00

So it is Sunday nite and here I am at the computer. I seem to be either at the store, on the computer at the store, on the computer at the house or working on my jewelry line. It never ends... The store had a pretty decent weekend which was great. I was there all Friday day and Saturday day so of COURSE those were the better days! No one sells like the owner, and customers like to work with the owner. Wish I could clone myself. The jewelry is doing really well. So that will probably be something else that I will do to consume my time! Don't know if I mentioned but I make jewelry. I am not a "beader" in the conventional sense. When I think of that, I think of the grandmas going in and buying their little beads. That is sooo not me. When I had the prior store and LOTS of time on my hands, I did a lot of research and so have found a # of vendors that are totally different. My stuff is kinda bling-y and pretty unique (just being modest! BWAH!) Anyhow, it is fun for me and gratifying when people like it . I try to price it a little more reasonably but still in line with what is out there that is comparable.

So tomorrow I technically have the day off.. but I am going in to the store to decorate for the holiday- HALLOWEEN! This is my fave month- my bday is at the start and Halloween at the end and as a kid what could have been better! Gifts AND candy all in one month! LOL...so I will let you all know how it turns out..catch ya later..

Crap it's early

2008-10-02T05:39:00.000-07:00

So if you want to have your own business, be prepared for not much sleep... right now it is 5:39 am and I have been up since about 4:11. Once I awake and my stupid brain starts getting going it is ridiculous. There is just so much to do and once I start thinking about it, that is it. I mean, seriously, I could spend all day and night working on the business and still have more to do. Hmm... maybe that is one of the reasons I am separated from my husband! Ha!

You wear a lot of hats in the business. For that matter, I guess any business. You are the bookkeeper (if your business is small and you don't have a lot of $- ME!), the buyer (ok that part is fun but it is such a teeny tiny part of the business), the manager, the customer service rep, the tax expert, the bill payer (sucks!), the personnel director, and the juggler because you have to do all this in one day with a certain amount of $. It really is a good thing I was pretty clueless about how engrossing and all-encompassing running a business is before I started. On second thought, it would not have mattered- being your own boss is the best part of the scenario. Of course, there is no net below you tho- at least, in my case. Used to be, but hey, ask for a divorce and suddenly you are on the high wire all by your lonesome! Talk about a buzz kill!

So I met with Emily and wrote the line yesterday. It is Yvette Mandel and she does some pretty cute items. My buying was for 10/15 forward and I didn't go crazy with the line. Like I have said before, I refuse to be bullied into buying more than I can afford. Plus, I like to test lines out and see how they do. So we will see with this one.. I have attached pics of one of the hoodies that I bought. There is another line (which will remain nameless for now) that I really want to write but I am waiting to get the line sheets. Ok, here is a beef: what is with the attitude on the part of the reps? Hello!!!! You are selling to ME!!! I AM THE BUYER! These chicks sometimes act like you are lucky that they talk with you. These are the girls who are probably making like $13/hour and live in the Valley you know? Right now, what with the market in the tank and business failing right and left you would think that they would be a little more amenable.. but hey, what do I know?

So I will wait to see if I get the linesheets.. this is going to be a long 11 hour day as I am at the store from 9-8.. .. see how FUN it is to run a biz? ha!

Great weekend!

2008-10-01T10:05:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I just love this business! You have a good weekend and sales are high and the energy is flowing and that is when you like what you do. Then you go home and have a few too many glasses of wine and collapse into bed. Wait, maybe that is just me! Lol.. The Mix was rocking over the weekend. Lots of people coming in from out of town. I really hope that the stock thing doesn't throw people into a panic. When people are sad and depressed guess what? They shop!

I did a fashion show Saturday nite (if you wanna call it that) and what an eye opener that was! The show was at Canal Restaurant right above the Mix. They have a really cool catwalk down the center of the restaurant and they are really encouraging the shops at the Mix to use it. Anyway, I and the store next door, Judge Me Boutique, both had a show. I was first.. big mistake! She had the opportunity to learn from my errors! First off, the girls (there were 3) were just galloping down the runway.. hello! it is not a race! Plus,it was like they were one big clique.. one right after the other. What I learned is that apparently I have to do major instruction as to how fast they should go, where they should go, how many times up and back down the runway, basically everything. It is like directing a bunch of sheep. Nice sheep but still sheep.. Lucky for me, my amazing designer friend Wendy was there and was able to assist me with the girls and what they should do since she is a former model. Smart AND pretty.. darn! Plus, I need more girls for the modeling- 3 is just not enough. I didn't want to spend a bunch of $ tho on the first rodeo as I want to figure it out and then go from there...

Today I meet with a vendor at 5 for a hoody/sweats (are they even called that anymore?) line.. btw, the last line I blogged about was AMAZING! Lots of cool stuff coming in from them the end of this month and the start of next.. hope I have the $ to pay for it all!
Next: how the line looked ...:)

Fashion Buying `101

2008-09-24T09:47:00.001-07:00

So I just posted a picture of one of my spring buys from my phone. Obviously, apparently I can't turn the picture so oops! This is from a line called Chili Pepper.. I met with the vendor yesterday am .. I am buying for spring so the ship dates are for March and April... what I have found is that I cannot let myself get bullied into buying stuff that I don't want. That was difficult for me at first but I have gotten a lot tougher! haha! So I bought about 4 styles split between two ship dates. I never buy a lot from any one line as unless I really really love it all, I just cannot get myself to commit that much $. Plus, it gives me more variety. These style will retail for around $140 plus I think. I am also meeting with another vendor for another line on Friday.

I will keep you posted on that one. I really like the line and it would fit in my store really well so I am psyched to see what she has to show me. That is the fun part of owning a store- seeing the upcoming trends and predicting what your customers will like. It is also the difficult part in a way because (especially in a small store like mine) you are putting your $ on the line that your customes will like your taste! hahah! If they don't, not only your ego is hurt but so is your wallet! And that my friends, can be the difference between making it and going out of business.

Tomorrow: Retailers store meeting at 9:30 am to discuss future marketing plans and a VERY long day..

One of my spring buys! Cute!

2008-09-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

My first post

2008-09-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

So I am new to this blogging thing and frankly have absolutely no idea what I am doing.. ha! A little about me.. I have a store in Scottsdale AZ that has been in business about 10 months. Could I pick a more difficult time to start a retail store? My store is in a "Fred Segal" style center where all the stores are little boutiques all next door to each other. Literally- as in you can walk from one area (store ) into the next area (store) without leaving the building. If you don't know what the concept is, it can be kinda weird. Like, I can't run up sales from the store next door you know? Anyway, this whole retail thing is kinda new for me, so anyone out there, feel free to give me advice! haha..but be nice! I intend to use this blog to post about my problems (but I prefer to call 'em "challenges.") At the very least, maybe someone else can learn from my mistakes and/or I can get help too.

My store is a women's clothing boutique and I sell contemporary lines. Actually I have a mix of designers, and my price point is anywhere from about $70 - $350.00. I have tried to mix it up as it is such a crappy economy and everyone seems to be watching their $$$$...some of the lines I carry are Hale Bob, Soul Revival, Paco Chicano and a bunch of lesser known ones. I really prefer to stay away from all the bigger labels. The opening orders seem to be so big and honestly, I like finding the stuff that others don't know about. Oh, and I make my own jewelry. I sell it at my store and am actually trying to get everything in place to do a website. The line is called Velvet Edge and I have a page right now on my store site. My stuff is kinda bling-y and I think it is fun to wear.

So that is it for now.. I'll probably be posting about my money woes, delayed orders, what a retailer's day is like (boy, THAT one should be fun), just about anything that has to do with a retailer's life. Oh, and also my life... see ya! the Retail Chick