Retailer Review
Brick & Mortar vs Online IT’S A KIDSWORLD speaks with two popular children’s retailers to discuss the ins and outs of the retail business from two different selling perspectives. We spoke with New York based Tutti store owner Christina Conelly as well as online retailer Gypsy Girl owner Cheryl Vann. They both shared their ideas of why their way of selling works for them and what they do to keep their retail business thriving in today’s retail environment.
Tutti New York 1. What was the inspiration for opening your store? How did it start it? How many years are you in business? I had a business before, that entailed all children clothing, when I noticed there is a hole in the market for infant clothing. I realized that I had to jump on that. I bought out my partner, and started Tutti. There were NO baby boutiques in Long Island, and I knew that this was a calling for me. I revamped my entire business plan to only market towards the baby business. I changed the logo, the name, and target market. I now sell for only young children sizes infant to size 8. My boutique is a great shop to purchase all baby gifts! 2. What are some of the most important categories for your store? What are the best selling items? The most important categories in my store are anything and ALL infant gifts and accessories. 3. Are any of your merchandise products
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personalized? What are some of the typical occasions that people come to you for gifts? We do not provide any personalized gifts, but the process of shopping at Tutti is a personalized experience, we offer great customer service that gives us a high return customer rate! We cater mostly for baby gifting, but we do have many birthday gifts being purchased for many young children. 4. How involved are you in social media? How important is social media to your company? Social media is EXTREMELY important to my business, it is the best way to get the products out. I am on Facebook and Instagram, but Instagram has definitely helped my business for
the better. Make sure to follow us on Instagram @tutti.ny 5. How have you managed to keep your company updated and relevant? To make sure my shop is always up to date I am always researching new lines. This is a 24/7 process to making sure I have what all my customers want. I go to all the trade shows to see the new and best lines to have in my store. Also, I travel EVERYWHERE, including Italy to have the best quality items for ALL my customers. 6. How have you see your business change over the years? The retail business has been more challenging in this day of age. Since the whole era of online shopping has occurred, I really had to step up my business and make sure to get people into my store. I ensure the whole shopping experience and really connect with each and every one of my customers.