RETAIL INTERVIEW:
&quirky
Feeling
quirky
It’s all about quirky and the unusual for this independent retailer. Gifts Today had the pleasure to catch up with Paul Cheshire, co-owner of &Quirky to find out more. What was the inspiration behind opening the doors to &Quirky? &Quirky was set up to bring some eclectic and quirky products to our local High Street. Based on previous business experience we noticed the items which had big appeal were the unusual items which were not on every High Street but would make a home more unique and on trend. Can you tell us a little about your floorspace – how do you manage this? Our little shop has three floors, with six small rooms. This allows us to theme each room or create a different shopping experience. It also enables us to try alternative product ranges which will then help us with future buying. What do you feel makes you stand out from competition within your area? The different ranges of products which we source from the UK and Europe make us unique, as well as our customer service – to help source items which we do not hold in the shop. 30 Gifts Today
We try to source unusual quirky items which make customers smile when they come in – and hopefully buy!
How do you find products that offer that something different as a gifting solution? We visit both home and international trade events; we also visit supplier showrooms which enables us to see products before launched. The use of social media also enables us to find new smaller brands or identify a growing trend. We also have local makers who contact us to sell products in our shop which would complement our product ranges. Do you feel that your customers have altered their spending behaviour when we look at the gifting arena? At present it seems as if customers are very price sensitive – we try to offer competitive pricing, although with the increase costs of importing items, sadly prices will need to be put up. As we offer unusual items, as a special gift, the price points of these do not seem to prevent customers from purchasing. Would you say that the products you stock reflect the shop name?
