Trunk Show Fun

This past Saturday, Zoe teamed up with Meagan Kurtz of ADMK Jewelry for an in-store trunk show!    We started carrying the ADMK line in early November and thought a trunk show would be a great event to allow Zoe's customers to see more of the line.

Meagan is the consummate professional.  She arrived an hour prior to the start of the show to make sure she had plenty of time to get everything set up.  She brought a table and table cover and lots of pretty forms to better display the necklaces.  She brought a large selection of earrings and some bracelets as well.  We had also agreed that we would draw for a pair of earrings from those people who made purchases during the trunk show.

As always, I enjoy having someone else working with me in the store to talk about fashion and the business.  Meagan told me that, in college, one class she took was titled "The Psychology of Clothing".  This sounds like a class I would enjoy.  Because it is always difficult to tell what is at the heart of anyone's clothing purchases!  She said it was a difficult class and I believe her!

We had a number of Zoe's existing customers and some walk in customers participate in the trunk show!  There seemed to be a good mix of people buying for themselves versus buying gifts for others.  And Meagan jumped right in to help when customers were trying on other items at Zoe!  It definitely made for a fun afternoon!

Next up:  Don't Do It!

Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend

This past Friday and Saturday were VERY big days in Old Town Alexandria!  The Campagna Center's Annual Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend and Parade brought throngs of people to Alexandria's streets!  If you recall last year's blog post regarding this weekend, we've been anticipating the event for a year!

The entire weekend is jam packed with events, starting with a Christmas Marketplace at the George Washington Masonic Memorial and continuing with Heather and Greens Sales at the same location.  I had pre-ordered some beautiful square boxwood wreaths and a boxwood kissing ball to hang at Zoe as well as a beautiful square magnolia wreath for my door at home.  (Due to two rambunctious cats, I don't do much decorating at home but I always insist on a pretty wreath on the door!)

A picture of one of the wreaths at Zoe:

Friday evening continues with an event called Taste of Scotland which includes tastings of rare Scotches, Scottish food, beer, and wine.

Saturday continues as a jam-packed day in Old Town.  In addition to continuing Heather and Greens sales (now at the Campagna Center) there is an Advent Service and Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Old Presbyterian Meeting House and a Holiday Design Tour of Homes (one of the homes on Prince Street was just around the corner from Zoe!)

And then the big draw - the Scottish Christmas Walk Parade!  You will never see as many men in kilts and adorable dogs in one place!  I knew that parade time would be quiet at Zoe and indeed it was - everyone was lining the parade route!

Zoe actually got very busy later in the afternoon as people headed to the City Marina Docks and Waterfront for the Holiday Boat Parade of Lights.  Over 50 boats participated in this event on the Potomac River!  Traffic was so crazy that after I closed I walked several blocks down the street for Jim to pick me up.  There was just no point in him getting tied up in that traffic.

If you didn't get to participate in any of the events this year, make sure to put it on your calendar for next year!

College Football Saturday Update

Really?  A boutique posting about college football?  What could the two possibly have in common?

Regular blog readers may remember my post from early September about how much I missed being able to go to games this year.  Like any situation, one has to figure out how to adapt with what they've been given.

Since I couldn't watch or attend any UGA games in person, I made sure to wear red and black (the school colors) in the store every Saturday.  Since I favored those colors in my office career days, I didn't have any problems putting together different outfits to fit the bill.  This past Saturday, I went so far as to wear my "G" earrings too!

Early in the season, a woman walked in on a Saturday afternoon wearing a "Dawgs" t-shirt.  I first said Hello, then said "Are you a Georgia fan?" and then asked "What is the score?"  Since most games started (and sometime ended) while the store was open, I could only occasionally sneak a look at ESPN.com for the score.

I did have a few men ask about a wide-screen TV on Saturday afternoons!  I'm sure Comcast would be happy to set me up if I requested it!  But that might be pushing my obsession a bit too far!

This is what I miss the most!

Window Wonderland Contest in Old Town

Last week I posted pictures of the design and development process and decorating strategy for Zoe's windows.  But what I hadn't seen yet was how beautiful they also look at night!  I wanted to share some pictures with you.

I do not think I could be more pleased with how they turned out!

I had also promised to provide you with information on how to vote for Zoe's windows in the contest.  You do need to be on Facebook to vote but you can vote once a day!  You will need to like the Old Town Boutique District page (easy to do from the link I will provide to you) in order to vote!

Vote for Zoe here!  or here for the non-Facebook voting site.

Small Business Saturday

Hot on the Heels of Black Friday was Small Business Saturday.  This "Shop Small" day is supported by American Express.  And, for American Express cardholders who registered their cards, any purchase of $25 or more at a small business on Small Business Saturday would result in a $25 statement credit for that customer.

I thought that American Express did a great job of promoting the day.  Jim told me that he heard radio ads every day on the way to work.  I saw full page ads in the Washington Post.  They sent a kit to the small businesses (like Zoe) to help us know what resources were at our disposal as well as provided us with collateral to use in marketing the day.  As another plus, they also offered businesses $100 worth of Facebook ads targeted to users in the business's general Zip Code area.  They confirmed that my ad was approved and running - I would be curious to know if they could provide information on the amount of clicks the ad received.  (There is that analytics thing again!)

Any time a customer used an American Express card in the store in November, I told them about the promotion.  And I sent out a link to the site to sign up in my Black Friday/Small Business Saturday email. But I didn't see the result from it that I think I was expecting.

I had a good day at the store but only received one American Express card for a purchase.  The man who presented the card was not a previous customer but did know about Small Business Saturday (a plus!)  I think I had expected more people to shop with American Express cards and to Shop Small.

So what would I do differently?  I think I would publicize it more heavily and earlier in the process.  I also think I would come up with some type of unique give away or promotion that would also draw people in so that it would be more than just them desiring to "Shop Small".  The local organizations here in Alexandria do such a good job of promoting "Shop Local" and "Shop Small" that many people probably already feel that they do this and don't need to make a special effort to do so.

Compared to the 12 hour Black Friday, the 8 hour Small Business Saturday seemed like a half day!

Black Friday

I really wanted to share Zoe's First Black Friday experience with you on Friday evening but I could barely keep my eyes open to eat dinner, much less type!

There had been so much publicity about the Black Friday events in Old Town that I was a little later sending out my email to my customer base.  Also, I had just sent an email a few days prior about the Donations for Discounts program so I hated pounding people with so many emails.  Although I know I have to embrace it from a business standpoint, I always feel a twinge personally when I'm part of pushing the commercialism of the holiday season.

Earlier in the week, one of my customers had come by and told me that she would be out of town on Friday but she wanted to call in during the 6 am - 8 am time period when we were offering 30% off everything in the store.  And I had a customer email me on Thanksgiving to ask me to set aside a couple items on Friday when I got to the store so she could also purchase them during the time period.  So, I thought I might get a couple sales during the early hours.

Still, I thought I must be crazy - was anyone going to get up to come shopping during the early morning hours at a boutique?  Best Buy and Target, sure!  Zoe?  Who knows?

My mom and I got up at 3:30 am on Friday morning and were at the store by 5 am.  I had several things I wanted to prepare prior to opening the doors at 6 am.  We opened while it was still completely dark outside.  And, to my surprise, the first customers walked in the door at 6:05 am!

We were steadily busy during that first two hours!  I had more sales in that first two hour period than my very best day since I had been open.  Many of them were previous customers who were thrilled to take advantage of the opportunity to purchase items that never go on sale!  It was so much fun sharing the Black Friday experience with them!  One of my regular customers brought her daughter with her and she drew this message on the Fisher Price draw/erase board I keep in the toy basket.

Things were quieter during the 20% off period between 8 am - 10 am but then picked back up for the rest of the day (we offered 10% off from 10 am - 6 pm).  Because we weren't really in a position to brew coffee for our customers, we gave a $5 Starbucks gift card to each person who made a purchase on Black Friday.  This really seemed to please our customers as there is a Starbucks just a block from Zoe!

I was also thrilled that one of my customers brought 30 food items for the Donations for Discounts program during that first 2 hour period!  She was then able to take 60% off her purchases!  And I have a great supply of food to take to ALIVE! this week!

I will admit that I normally keep a running total in my head on any normal day but I just couldn't do it on Friday because we were processing sales through so quickly in that first two hours.  I was so excited when I ran my end of day program and saw the final result!  As exhausted as I was, it was well worth it to open for those 12 hours.  And I was so glad my mom was here to help me.  There is no way I could have done it alone.

Zoe (and I) survived our first Black Friday!

Visiting the Alive! Food Pantry

If you've been reading this blog for any period of time, you've probably picked up on the fact that I am somewhat uncomfortable with the commercialism surrounding the December holidays.  Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, or even Festivus, it is important to not forget the meaning and spirit of the season.

This is probably very much at odds with my ownership of Zoe.  In the retail world, the holiday shopping season is considered critical to the overall success of the business.  And, I'm participating in a number of events (Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Coupons) that promote shopping at this time of year.  But I kept thinking that I wanted to find a way to do something positive for Zoe's hometown of Alexandria that would be a win for the charity and a win for my customers.

Last year, we hosted a 50th wedding anniversary party for Jim's parents.  They do a lot of work for their local food bank in Central Virginia and had told us of the ever-increasing needs for this organization.  Knowing that they did not want gifts, we asked the attendees (in lieu of a gift) to bring a donation for the food bank.  We also decided that, rather than giving the guests favors, we'd donate the money we would have spent on favors to the food bank as well.  We were so delighted to deliver over 450 pounds of food to their local food bank as a result of the party!

Also one of my mentor boutiques, Duo New & Used Clothing in Charlottesville, sponsors a food drive with their customers.  Greer designed the program to allow for discounts based on food donations.  I asked her if she would mind if I did something similar at Zoe!  But what was the right organization in Alexandria?  I contacted the Executive Director of ACTion Alexandria for advice.  He directed me to ALIVE!

A partnership with ALIVE! was exactly what I was looking for.  I've asked Zoe's customers to bring canned goods to Zoe in exchange for a 1% discount for each item donated (up to 30 items).  A customer brings 10 items for donation, they get 10% off their purchase!  Everyone wins!  We will be running this program through January 6th.

On Monday, I went by to meet the team at ALIVE! and get a greater understanding of their needs.  I took some pictures during my visit.

You can see that they could use some more tuna, canned beans, and spaghetti products!

Soup is also a significant need as well as pasta sauce!

We are honoring the Donations for Discounts through all of our Black Friday sales and other coupon discounts.  I would love to make a huge delivery to ALIVE! on Monday.