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April's
Articles for Giftware News:
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Pearls of the Trade
The Week of August 20, 2007
Pearls of the Trade.
Retail is a stage, and the curtain goes up on a new performance
every day. Working with the public, one of the most interesting
challenges is responding to the seemingly irrefutable comments
of staff and customers. Many great lines are launched at the start
of a season, both from showrooms and from the lips of professional
sales people! Visiting the Toronto Gift Show last week both
of them and the Mode Accessory show and a few Toronto showrooms,
and my own retail La Cache stores had me bumping into a few fun
comments.
I think my favorite and there was no refuting it was from
Luba, from La Cache Queen Street in Toronto, "Selling these beautiful
things" she says, "brought out the nice Luba inside me. I used
to speak roughly and be bossy, now even my family says I am a
nicer person." Oh Luba that is amazing that handling beautiful
things can make you more beautiful to others too. I have always
suspected that.
I thought hard on another comment from the owner of Merx jewelers:
"I used to love selling to your stores," he said, "I didn't have
any chain store business and you were my chain!" It was a bittersweet
comment, but at least as sweet as bitter. I liked having been
'his chain.'
After a day at the shows, I darted around Toronto from Yonge Street
to Bloor West Village and snagged a few retail gems from two of
my Canadian managers, Sharon, from Toronto, and Kate, from Victoria.
These two women, each more feminine and pretty than the other,
are retail gurus. All day long, they dispense advice and know-how
to customers and staff. They motivate, stimulate, educate, and
inspire on the stage of retail. They prepare product, price it
and decorate, and display it, all to an audience that is sometimes
passionate, sometimes patient and sometimes provocative.
Provocative. To the often-heard customer comment: "My house is
full of your stuff. My closet looks like your shop." It is a compliment
but it is also somebody saying they don't need anything more.
Kate responds, in a quiet voice, "You know, it may be time to
pass some of those beautiful things on."
"Pass it on" and share with a friend or family or community center
something that you have enjoyed. Pass on something beautiful
feel good about that - and come and see our new things."
Pass it on. I like that.
The challenge that "May I help you ma'am?" apparently presents
to a shopper is one of the most difficult for a sales person to
over come. The standard reply of "No, just looking" is a borderline
polite dismissal. I love this reply, gleaned from my staff: "You
know, everything begins with looking... even marriage." What a
conversation starter! Instead of being banished from your customer's
presence she joins you in a laugh.
When you have an item that the staff just doesn't like, well,
they have to: "Make friends with it! If you don't make friends
with it it will be here for a long time," says Kate. She tells
me she has found happy homes for many 'best friends.' And made
room for more friends at the same time. Hopefully ones that don't
stay too long.
As I sat in my seat [14F] on the West Jet flight to Montreal,
I heard the excited chatter of other buyers and sellers as they
discussed their shows. I mulled over the words of sweet wisdom
gleaned in busy Toronto and thought, you know, this business is
kind of nice.
April Cornell
Toronto, Canada |
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