Party Stores

Keeping Sales Popping (From page 95) clientele seem to be moving away from the character-centric parties and moving towards more tailored parties that decorate with classic themes. We are also seeing a lot of 90’s themed parties as our generation relives their youth in their 40’s. As an extension, bright and bold seem to be in demand. Our eco-friendly products like bamboo dinner ware are also popular as people try be conscientious of the environment.”

Merchandising is typically one of the most enjoyable aspects of retail, as it lets team members stretch their creative muscles. Within the party planning space, the opportunity for creative merchandising is truly endless. Perrin has a “like with like” merchandising philosophy—“I try to do like things with like things. Valentine’s Day is with Valentine’s Day, for instance. I just try to say, ‘Here’s what we have for you to look at.’ I’ll walk people around the store and show them what we have,” she explained. Puckett utilizes planograms to make it easy for customers to find merchandise and create an effective flow throughout the store. Kuonen said, “We try to rotate seasonal displays to the forefront and keep staple items in stock. We carry a rainbow of solid color items to aid in decorating for any party. We deal with about 500 vendors

(sometimes for just a single item from a vendor) to not only have diversity of products, but to have multiple sources for the same product. This has been especially important this past year as supply issues have affected retailers worldwide. We often are asked ‘Why do you have x item when no one else does?’, and the answer is, a list of manufacturers and vendors that we have collected over the last 70 years.”

As independent businesses, retailers say providing excellent customer service is critical. Educating the customer is a large part of this—demonstrating how certain products work or pairing items together to create a visual for a possible theme are all elements of the party supply retail business. Puckett said she spends a lot of time educating customers about the temperament of latex and foil balloons.

“[Customer service] is my top priority,” Perrin said. “My top tip is to just be really personable—be open to helping them [the customer]. I go out of my way to make it as easy as possible for them. I also have a colorful, cheerful space [measuring approximately 1,080 square feet, with roughly 1,000 of selling space] that motivates people to see what they want to do for their events.”

Kuonen said giving the customer undivided attention is important. “Be there for the customer. Make them feel special, because they are. We are a small store, but there are usually seven or eight people working at any given time. We work with customers oneon-one to help them find what they need and get them out of the store quickly.” And independent retailers embrace the community in which they do business. “We offer a level of service that will not be found at a national chain store. We also connect with our customers and remember them,” Kuonen said. “Although we are in the middle of Dallas, we are actually in a small town called University Park. Combined with Highland Park these two small towns form the ‘Park Cities’ and are completely separate, yet surrounded by Dallas. We have a small-town feel. I am seeing a generational cycle—customers I remember being children are now coming in with their own children!” ❖