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Discover Mid-America — November 2008
Doing what works
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by Bruce Rodgers
As you might know, I spend time each month just talking with shop owners, mall managers and just about anyone with an interest in the antique business. This past month was no different.
But a couple of things came out of recent conversations that have stuck with me. Call them approaches in the antique business that are good counter strategies in a down economy and just good ways of doing business at any time.
After delivering my usual “How are things going for ya?” to Denese Caulkins, manager of River Market Antique Mall in Kansas City, I was knocked back by her response. “Just great!” she said. “We’re over $49,000 from last year.”
What Caulkins, owner Larry Mallin and staff and dealers do very well is know their customers. In their case, located near downtown and in the midst of new condo and townhouse development, that’s young professionals either single or childless couples.
They attract that demographic, with disposable incomes and the urge to have something different for their home, with a large inventory of antiques and collectibles extremely varied across many categories that changes frequently, sold at prices that bring people back. Many young folks in KC, new to antiquing, got their feet wet and interest lit at River Market.
In the KC suburb of Shawnee, KS, Bev Roman just re-opened Decorator’s Showcase (see page 13). For her, presentation, particularly how the store looks in its entryway to a customer, sets “the pace for the shopping experience.”
Roman’s touch is to follow themes and decorating with seasonal motifs that she believes coincides with the buying moods of consumers. She also has a “clearance area” in the back of the mall that attracts both new and seasoned antiquers.
A couple of miles away in Lenexa, Michelle Staley took her My Granny’s Attic Antiques and Collectibles and Custom Gifts online store and went for a physical location too in the city’s Old Town section. It was a deliberate move into a place she had wanted for years. With it came Staley’s involvement with the surrounding community and becoming associated with an organization promoting the area.
For her, it’s a no-brainer for an antique business owner to become involved in activities that promote and support the historic nature of the area where one does business. Love of history and an attraction to antiques are matching socks to that customer walking through the door.
On the grand scale, some economic factors are out of our control. But for independent businesses like in the antique trade, being smart is more about commonsense and knowing what works, particularly at the local level.
Bruce Rodgers can be contacted at publisher@discoverypub.com.
> Refurnished Thoughts Archive — past columns
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