By Genie Campbell
Wisconsin State Journal
Reprinted by permission
Sunday, February 2, 1997
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Retail Success: The Story of Orange Tree
Most of us who shop at Orange Tree Imports on Monroe Street like to take our time. We pause and linger over the jewelry, candies, glassware and soaps. Often we stop to read a few greeting cards and look to see what kind of irresistible items are out for the next holiday. And whether we're serious cooks or not, we'll check out all the new kitchen gadgets. So, it's not surprising that when we're finally ready to check out, our arms are filled with more than we had intended to buy.
In the specialty retail industry, such ''indulgence'' is not a hit-or-miss occurrence or written off as simply good luck. It's a business strategy born of precise record-keeping, careful inventory management, astute buying, excellent customer service and imaginative
displays, all of which are discussed in depth in Carol ''Orange'' Schroeder's new book, ''Specialty Shop Retailing: How To Run Your Own Store'' (John Wiley & Sons, New York, N.Y, $29.95), released across the country this past week.
Schroeder, Co-owner of Orange Tree Imports with her husband, Dean, entered specialty retailing like a lot of people do, with little prior experience and no business background,
but with enthusiasm to spare and no fear of hard work. After 20 years as a shopkeeper, she
decided it was time to look back and provide some insights about running a store - right
down to the best products for removing sticky price labels.
While there are books that help people calculate their return on investment or write a
business plan, Schroeder says few explain how to track customers' special requests; tag
merchandise; maintain a good sales force by offering perks to offset wages; and manage
inventory.
Schroeder's words of wisdom are born of trial and error and an underlying appreciation of
the importance of change and creativity. She presents her advice as suggestions, not hard
and fast rules.
For instance, she warns against buying only what ''you'' as a shopkeeper like. In her own
store, however, she won't carry ''war toys and Halloween decorations that make irritating
electronic noises -- no matter how popular they might be.'' The mix of merchandise is
crucial, she adds, in creating an identity for a store and setting it apart from discount and
department stores.
Once Schroeder decided to write a specialty retailing guide (it was a New Year's resolution to herself in '95), she spent six months researching what other experts had written and listening to manufacturing sales representatives, employees and other store owners. Local businesses adding their advice include Oriental Specialties, Pooh Corner, Chickadee Depot and Movin' Kids.
Written with an eye toward practicality, Schroeder peppers her advice with hands-on experiences. In addressing vandalism, for instance, she talks about the time she caught a
teenager stomping on bath oil beads in the cutlery department. Firmly, Schroeder insisted
that the girl clean up the mess herself.
''Parents constantly worry about their toddlers breaking something in the store, but most of
the damage to merchandise and displays is done by adults,'' she writes.
And even though the era of the ''you break it -- you bought it'' has passed in most stores,
customers are still afraid to admit they have accidentally broken something. In her store,
she says, ''We usually find the items hidden in our displays.''
On a personal level, Schroeder discusses the decision she and Dean made, after several successful years in business, to expand the one shop, rather than open branch stores, so they'd have enough time and energy left to raise a family. Today, they each work four days a week, taking one day off ''alone'' and Sunday and Monday off together. Their responsibilities are separate but equal.
Armed with a master's degree in Scandinavian Studies from UW-Madison, Schroeder followed her heart and went to work for a small branch of a Scandinavian import store. When it looked like it might close after a year, the Schroeders (Orange was 23 at the time) bought the business, re-named it Orange Tree Imports and changed the merchandise mix from simply Scandinavian furniture and home accessories to an assortment of garden, toy, home decorative, seasonal and paper products.
Dean gave up his full-time job and came on board a year later, just as soon as the shop was able to support the two of them.
As the customer-base expanded, so did the merchandise mix. To promote kitchenware, a cooking school was added.
Remodeling increased the size of Orange Tree Imports in 1980, and six years later, the Schroeders bought the adjoining store and connected it to their own. Together, those two decisions tripled their original space.
Yet, it wasn't all smooth sailing. In the mid-'80s, the Schroeders learned how important it was to be profitable as well as busy. Advice from the Small Business Development Center at UW-Madison helped them implement new pricing techniques and showed them how to pay more attention to which categories their inventory dollars were going.
Today, Orange Tree Imports is a $1.5 million specialty-retail business with 33 full- and part-time employees, some of whom have been there almost from the start.
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