Fairfield County Business Journal 082415

Page 1

FAIRFIELD COUNTY

BUSINESS JOURNAL

13 | ACCOUNTING FOR JOBS

August 24, 2015 | VOL. 51, No. 34

18 | GOOD THINGS HAPPENING westfaironline.com

YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS

Symbiosis Inc.

GREENWICH AUCTION AND CACHÉ NAIL SPA SHARE THE SAME ROOF BY BILL FALLON bfallon@westfairinc.com

B

David Johnson, principal, Stamford-based Greenwich Auction and Caché Nail Spa. Photo by Bill Fallon

y the end of August, the burgeoning national pastimes of spa pampering and shopping — seemingly oxygen itself for many — will find a home at the same 13,000-squarefoot Stamford address, where until now the shopping arm has held sway exclusively in the form of art, jewelry and antiques. Should Czar Nicholas I rejoin the quick, his sword is there for sale, soon potentially coupled with a foot rub. “Who doesn’t like to have their feet massaged?” asked David Johnson, 56, whose vision to pair art and spa businesses is underpinned by engineering and business degrees and by decades in the global corporate marketplace.

Greenwich Auction at 83 Harvard Ave., which has doubled its sales every six months since reinvigorating its auction business two years ago and the coming Caché Nail Spa, will complement each other, said Johnson, principal of both businesses. If a spa/fine art mashup appears an odd business marriage, Johnson reassures it is not: The spa has repeat-visit leisure time built in and the art business complements that with browsing built in. Johnson was already in the art business — primarily auction — when he began the search for a complementary business. A stated part of his business plan was that he could undercut the competition via location. A company flier says: “Easy I-95 access” — it is close to Exit 6 — “in Stamford’s undiscovered area means 80 percent

rent savings go into your pocket.” Quality is evident at both ends of the split space. The spa has its own entry, but feeds into the art warehouse via a marble-floored hall. Besides an abundance of marble, the spa’s floors and walls feature real walnut, not veneer. The idea has already yielded its first sale. “We won’t be open for another week or so,” Johnson said recently. “But a woman who came in for the spa and found it was not yet open walked up front and bought something.” Johnson’s Bachelor of Science in engineering from Ohio State University led to work on the Minuteman nuclear missile for the U.S. Air Force and on early digital photography for Kodak. He later earned an MBA from the » SYMBIOSIS, page 4

Party on!

STAMFORD’S CONCERT SERIES DRAWS BIG, FILLS COFFERS BY DANIELLE BRODY dbrody@westfairinc.com WHEN A TOTAL 35,000 PEOPLE came to Stamford for the city’s six-week Alive@Five Concert series this summer, new and old businesses capitalized on the crowds while, at the same time, the City that Works burnished its after-hours image. Sandy Goldstein, president of the Stamford Downtown Special Services District, a nonprofit responsible for downtown development, said the goal of the million-dollar program is to bring people into the city and to showcase it as a hip destination. The event, which has gone on for about 15 years, is produced by Stamford Downtown and the city of Stamford. It offers concerts in Columbus Park for $5 or $10 for six consecutive Thursday evenings.

The event draws people from Connecticut, Westchester and New York City, Goldstein said, adding that some only know about Stamford because of the concert series. “We get no return on our investment — our investment is all about branding the downtown,” Goldstein said. “The restaurants get incredible economic benefits.” On the last night of the series, a crowd of about 9,600 people packed into Columbus Park to see singer Shaggy perform. Police had to limit admittance, leaving at least 2,000 people to listen from beyond the event barriers around Stamford’s downtown, Goldstein said. During the concerts, the restaurants in the park area were “drop-dead booming,” and after, people dispersed throughout the area, giving some spots a 600 percent boost in sales, she said. This year some newer businesses — a start-

up app and Harbor Point bars — also took part in the action. Norwalk-based Bevrage promoted its mobile app, which launched in June, for the first time this year at Alive@Five, said CEO Dounya Irrgang. The company partners with liquor brands to offer rebates on alcohol purchases. It works with companies like SpikedSeltzer, another Norwalk business, which recently had a tent next to Bevrage’s at Alive@Five. Bevrage will initiate its big push next month when it launches in other states. Still, posting up at Alive@Five each week, which had many members of the company’s target demographic — millennials 21-28 years old who drink alcohol — led to a 20 percent to 30 percent spike in downloads every Thursday, depending on the concert attendance, Irrgang said. » PARTY, page 5


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Fairfield County Business Journal 082415 by Westfair Business Journal - Issuu