International Market Centers (IMC) Spotlight

restrictions are lifting?

Kate Botelho Sibya and Laura Murphy (K.B.S. and L.M.): As the restrictions are being lifted, we are moving forward cautiously. We are extending our hours at our store on Bannister’s Wharf in downtown Newport, R.I., as the hospitality business is booming here. The store has been working with the local business community and Chamber of Commerce on different festivals such as Daffodil Days. We had a bright and cheerful window to encourage visitors along with participating in a variety of events centered around that week. Book signings have been very successful in the past. We are now booking them for the summer. We hope to expand into food tastings, but we will wait and see on that front! Working with the local retailers creates a shopping destination for our visitors.

Which business practices instituted during COVID do you intend to continue through recovery?

As the COVID restrictions are being lifted, we are going to be keeping many of our practices in place not only for the customer, but for our staff to feel comfortable in the working environment. We have not lifted the mask requirement for the stores and the plexi-glass will remain in place for the time being.

Additionally, our fixtures and product selection was thinned out to allow for social distancing and our dollar per transaction increased, so we’re going to continue that practice. The number of customers entering the store will be lifted. Also, during the shutdown we began sending email blasts out weekly to our customers, this is something we’re planning to keep doing as it boosted traffic and orders on our website, NewportStyle. net.

IMC: How might inventory/supply chain issues impact your holiday buying?

K.B.S. and L.M.: In the early part of the winter, I worked with my holiday vendors and placed my orders with future ship dates to secure the product. I had heard that there were going to be possible shortages in product, and I took advantage of virtual buying with my reps. It worked out very well! Now I just keep my fingers crossed that it will arrive safely. We also buy holiday ornaments that we sell year-round, many of which are made in USA (and even better, made in Rhode Island). This way we have a back-up plan if orders don’t arrive when we need them. ❖