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doesn’t move. I know what my bread- and-butter is, so I’ve got to be a better buyer.”
Pricing is also important in retail ap- parel, although perhaps not as much as in other retail categories. “Customers are not going to buy something they don’t like, no matter how cheap it is,” Pasacreta says. But price does matter: “A $75 handbag sells like crazy, but a $300 one takes a little longer to sell,” she notes.
The type of customer a store attracts also impacts its pricing philosophy. The luxury segment, for instance, has been somewhat isolated from the ups and downs that other retail apparel catego- ries have faced. “Luxury customers are al- ways shopping,” says Land. “They always have events; they always go on vacation. The people who live that lifestyle need to look the part, so we don’t suffer as much as mainstream stores [when the economy falters]. For our customers,” Land adds, “if it’s something they love and just have to have, it goes straight to the counter. They don’t even look at the price.”
That feeling is far from universal, though, and Land says retailers have to be careful not to turn away business from other market segments. “We stopped us- ing the term ‘high end’ [to describe our- selves] because it alienated people,” she says, adding that some customers are in- timidated by the store itself. “They think they’re going to spend a thousand dollars if they walk in. That’s just not the case. We do carry high-priced designers, but we
also have moderate price points that wel- come any customer.”
Buying the right merchandise mix (an- other key success factor) depends heavily on knowing your customer—which, ac- cording to every retailer we spoke with, is key to the business model. “Clothing is personal; you want it to fit your body in the most complimentary way,” points out Tal Bitton, spokesperson for Princess by Tali, his wife’s eponymous boutique in the Jefferson Valley Mall in Yorktown Heights. “My wife knows her customers by name and knows their stories. From years of experience, she can tell them when something looks good and fits them well—or not. Online, you don’t have a connection with the salesperson who cares about you.”
Land also recognizes the importance of personal knowledge and service. “Peo- ple have been shopping in malls and big stores for so long, where they don’t get the attention they need because the salesper- son is so busy helping maybe 20 people,” she says. She contrasts that with the ap- proach at Churchills, where, she says, “We know their families. We know what events are coming up in their lives. We’re dress- ing them for occasions. We’re dressing their kids and husbands, too.”
Zuckerman, like many retailers, keeps a database of notes about his customers. He also believes in making the store expe- rience at Z Life Denim Lounge as enjoy- able as possible as another way to keep business constant. “We’ve made shopping
“In the last 10 years, the emphasis
on social-media outlets has
enhanced our ability to
connect with our customers
in the best way possible.”
— Lynn Puro, owner, March Boutique
“You have to offer something
different to create an
experience that makes
the customer feel good
about coming in.”
— Adam Zuckerman, owner, Z Life Denim Lounge
“I don't want to be a museum.
I need turnover. There are
vendors I don't do business
with anymore because their
merchandise doesn't move.”
—Patty Palmieri, owner, LV2BFIT
Westchester Apparel Retailing by the Numbers
Clothing and accessory stores:
610
Annual sales:
$1.17 billion
Employees:
7,821
Annual payroll:
$153 million
Gross profit margin:
33.8%
Net profit margin:
6.8%
Sources: 2012 Economic Census; 2014-15 CSIMarket.com
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