Hospitality Retail Souvenir Sales Add Much to Your Property

Souvenirs are Serious Business Hospitality Retail

Nailah Nash is Director of Retail Shops at The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island. With a background in retail at J. Crew and Saks Fifth Avenue, Nailah comes to the hospitality industry with a unique approach to adding more to your bottom line.

Q. Nailah, your path is quite unique. How did you get into this field?

A. The appreciation of beautiful items and beautiful, inspiring spaces have always been passions of mine. For those that know me well, it is no surprise that my career took me in the direction of fashion, the retail business and hospitality. Although these may seem like an unlikely combination, I have been fortunate enough to combine these passions into a career that challenges and inspires me daily.

My career began in the corporate world. I worked for a large information technology company as a Business Analyst and learned so much. I absorbed the principles of dedication and seeing a project through from concept to daily execution. This time was invaluable as it is the foundation of my career.

I had never considered a career in retail. Although shopping was certainly a hobby of mine, I never thought that I could make that my new career. I had a wonderful mentor who encouraged me to join the industry and helped me quickly develop from a part-time associate to a leader who developed teams and opened new department stores. Although this path was not my first choice out of college, I loved it. I felt excited and inspired about my contribution each day.

As fortune would have it, I was soon extended the opportunity to merge my love for travel and beautiful spaces with my love of fashion, design and retail operations. This was truly a dream come true. The fit could not have been better, because as I researched and benchmarked companies with best-inclass service, The Ritz-Carlton was always my favorite. Our brand is known for bestin-class service and our ladies and gentlemen are titans of the industry and masters of their craft. It has been truly amazing to As fortune would have it, I was “ integrate high end retail into this environment. The guest is always excited to experience the best of both worlds. These are truly soon extended unique shopping experiences the opportunity that you will not find elsewhere. to merge my During my time with The Ritzlove for travel Carlton, I have been fortunate to and beautiful work with an amazing hotel spaces with my manager and two great general love of fashion, managers that see my vision for design and retail building luxury retail within operations. This was truly a dream come true. hotel spaces. These gentlemen have taught me the business of hotels. During my seven years with The Ritz-Carlton my ” team and I have redesigned our retail offerings. We have developed strategic partnerships with several popular brands who now have stores within our hotel. We saw opportunities to take underused meeting space and recreate them into revenue generating guest experiences. We work to continuously provide a new experience for the guest. Part of that experience is ensuring that we always have lovely items for the guests to enjoy and take home with them.

Q. Explain to readers about the company you started to support the hospitality industry.

A. Nash Luxury Group was born out of the need and request for more retail support within the hospitality industry. Every hotel and resort should have a retail offering of some sort for guests. Travel and shopping are a great fit and a good source of additional cash flow. For that reason, I have pulled together a team of experts that support owners and general managers to integrate retail offerings into hotels and restaurants.

Q. Hotels typically focus on rooms, food and beverage and recreation. Why retail?

A. Travel and dining are all about the unique experiences and memories that one can bring home with them. Those special memories will last for a lifetime and sometimes for generations. For that reason, souvenirs and gifts for loved ones from the destination have always been a natural combination.

Q. What do you love most about being a retailer?

A. All levels of creating retail purchasing plans and operations are my passion from store design, product design and strategic vendor partnerships to guidance with store operation. With over 20 years in the industry, I envision strategic ways to include gift shopping in hotel lobbies, spas or restaurants. These additional spaces can be a powerful addition to the guest experience as well as the bottom line of the overall profit.