Alex Johnson Mercantile adjusts to changing downtown clientele
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by Main Street Square
she learned working in the tourism industry ennifer Johnson grew up in Rapid City carried over to her interactions. Jennifer was and remembers working for her father able to hone her professional skills learned in Wayne Johnson, the original owner of retail, including goal setting, sales tracking, the Rushmore Tramway. As a young and merchandising, to take advantage of an girl she vividly remembers spending hours opportunity presented to her by Linc and cleaning the grounds and watching the visitors Elaine Ainsworth - owners of the Mercantile. enjoy the Black Hills. “In a chance conversation Linc asked if I “From and early age I saw the joy that wanted to buy the store people experienced looking and I thought it was a joke, in awe at the faces and the but he was serious,” stated beauty of the Black Hills,” "From and early age I Johnson. “Over the next few stated Johnson. saw the joy that people months, Jim and I spent so Growing up in the tourism experienced looking in awe much time on the SBA loan, industry was all the Jennifer knew. She also knew how at the faces and the beauty meeting with bankers, and coming up with a business much hard work went into of the Black Hills." plan. The process was as owning your own business. - Jennifer Johnson “Working at the Tramway natural as breathing because Owner, Alex Johnson Mercantile I had learned the process all of those years taught me two things: the work would of business working for others,” added Johnson. be hard for a few months, but it would be worth it. And make sure to Johnson was able to take everything she had learned in retail and now apply it to a business treat each and every visitor as if I know them, she owned and make it her own. we are in the relationship business,” added Johnson. “The mercantile was established as a highend gallery. We wanted to brighten it up, reOver the course of her professional career, Jennifer worked in retail and cosmetics at arrange and recreate the Mercantile. The goal was to make it shoppable, unique and diverse,” different businesses. The same techniques
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