Chapter 4 - "The Adventure Continues"

My goodness, what a difference a few weeks can make!  Rick, Katie and I have all started new journeys recently, yet we meet up at frequent intersections along the way.  Katie's thoroughly enjoying college life, and it's a wonderful time to be a Theatre major in Kansas City.  With the vibrant 2011/2012 seasons at Missouri Repertory Theatre and the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the theatre scene in KC has never had such an illustrious beginning.  Katie will be able to witness and work on many productions over the next four years, and she is thriving in college academia.  It's such a joy to watch her enjoy college life - boy, they do grow up too quickly!

Rick and I are dividing our work life into different sides of the consumer goods world.  Life as a Senior Product Manager at K&Company is a gift, nothing less.  It's such a perfect transition from my years at Hallmark & Bitterman's, and to work with such a creative and knowledgable group of people is an absolute delight.  Getting back in the groove with our Asian partners has been really interesting too, and I'm hoping to make a trip to our factories there next year.

And our biggest news this month has been the opening of "Uncle Ricky's" in Liberty MO - we opened on Friday, September 23, during Liberty's Fall Festival, and it was such a warm, welcoming homecoming.  We saw several of our customers from our American Homestead days, and the response has been gratifying.  To see Rick in action again in a retail venue has been a joy - he's is such a dynamic "shopkeeper" and is back to his old tricks.  If you haven't been by to see us, we're open everyday except Sundays.

The best part of opening "Uncle Ricky's" has been the combined efforts of the McKernan family - Katie has taken on the buying responsibilities for our personal accessories department, and she has a real talent for merchandise selection.  She's managing the inventory, building displays and reordering best sellers - she's already sold out on some items!  Rick's at the store everyday, and has met with sales reps all week preparing for the holiday selling season.  And we're all three at the store on Saturdays, greeting customers, sampling gourmet treats, and selling great product.  So we get to be together on the weekends and build our new business venture.  So our journey continues - in separate lanes, and on the road together - what a trip!

Chapter 3 - "A Fork in the Road"

When we started our blog earlier this year, all three of the McKernan's were coming to a crossroads:  Katie was finishing her senior year at Kearney High School and looking toward her collegiate career; Karen had celebrated five years at Bitterman Family Confections as their Product Development & Design Director, and Rick was transitioning from his job as GM at Bitterman's to...well, next steps weren't as obvious for him.  We all knew what Rick's true professional passions were, but there were many "bumps in the road" that kept him from pursuing those endeavors.

So, this chapter of our blog is going to center around a sort of cosmic roadmap...the influences of karma.  I'm a firm believer that sometimes, one just needs to be patient, still, and listen to your internal "GPS" when deciding next steps.  And though it's tough to always tell where your path will lead, do good and good will find you eventually.

How does all this affect our retail journey?   Well, the past three months have been a trip in the fast lane, for certain.  For Karen, her stint at Bitterman's certainly benefited from her time at Hallmark, and she learned a great deal about comprehensively building and managing product assortments:  from designing the product and packaging, to creating the marketing materials, to managing BFC's largest corporate account and training salespeople.  Working with the employees at Bitterman's was and will always be one of Karen's most valued and treasured experiences.  But Karen encountered another "fork in the road" in her career journey - one that has felt like winning the lottery from the moment she accepted this new job:  working as Senior Product Manager for K&Company, a paper-crafting company owned by EK Success/Wilton Crafts. With almost four weeks under her belt, Karen is loving every minute of this new assignment.

Most of you that know Rick can recognize and appreciate his love of theatre - both on a conventional stage, and within a retail environment.  He is at his happiest when he's shopping in a fabulous store, pontificating about a particular film or stage show, or planning his next big "event" at our house.  At the center of it all, though - Rick is a merchant, and one of the best in creating and executing product assortments and merchandising displays.  And when you have retail in your blood, it's tough to leave it completely.  So we'd occasionally laugh - "in OUR store, we'd carry this and that, and we'd have an event every month" or "Why can't we find any cool ____________ at retail" (fill in the blank - we have many times).  When Karen's new job came on the horizon, Rick started thinking about retail again in earnest - with some very specific requirements:  "It has to be about 2500 square feet, and I'd want it next to a great restaurant or other great retail...,"  and "I'd want to open in fourth quarter, right when everybody's looking for a great place to shop."  Lots of rules, and not easy to find...but we did.

So it gives us great pleasure to announce that we're opening another retail venture:  Uncle Ricky's - Smilin' since 1958.  Located on Liberty's Historic Square, it's next to The JEM Restaurant - which is fabulous, by the way - you owe it to yourself to visit soon, and often.  We'll have many of our favorites from our days in American Homestead - lots of seasonal decor, gourmet food, accessories, and gifts.  All three of the McKernan's are contributing to the buying process - Katie's helping to expand our accessory assortment:  purses, jewelry, etc.  And customers will always find us celebrating holidays and special occasions in style.  Opening day is Friday, Sept. 23 during the Liberty Fall Festival - so it's right around the corner.  Once again, Rick's going down a familiar path - one he never really left.

When we closed American Homestead, it was for all the right reasons:  we had the luxury of time in the evenings and weekends to fully participate in Katie's high school activities.  Being a part of Katie and her friends' lives during the "teenage years" proved to be rich beyond measure, and growing close to the kids and families at Kearney High was a gift.  Now it's time for Katie to "fly the coop" as it were - she's moving into the dorm at UMKC next weekend, and has a glorious road ahead of her as a Honors student pursuing a Theatre degree.  She's planning on coming home some weekends to work in the store - you see, retail's in her blood, too.   And while none of the three of us knew where we're be heading earlier this year, the "fork in the road" has us on track for some pretty exciting journeys ahead.  Karma...gotta love it.

Chapter 2 - "The Big Event"

As Rick and I have been pondering the content of our blog (not to mention consulting activities), we’ve had a wonderful time going down “Memory Lane” when we had our store, American Homestead.  Those years of daily store operation were no easy task, but we loved every minute of it.  And we’re still gratified, flattered (and frankly, a little surprised) when customers recognize us at local restaurants, movie theaters or school events and comment on how much they miss our store.  At times, we miss it too…

So we’re organizing our blog content around what we think makes retail great – both at our store, and at other stores that we visit.  And we’ll share some ideas around generating excitement, appeal, and activity in your retail business, special event, or even family gatherings and “to-do’s”.

Today’s blog is dedicated to a topic that we think was one of our strongest suits:  Special Events.  If you ask anyone about what they remember about our store, they will frequently answer – “HALLOWEEN!”  And I’d have to humbly admit that when it comes to Halloween product, merchandising and special events, we did it well.  Our Halloween Open House was always the single biggest day of the retail calendar for us, and American Homestead was featured in local newspapers and national magazines because of it.  What made it so successful?

Planning – This event was top of mind every day we were in business – choosing the theme or “hook” of the event, looking for new merchandise, picking the right date, determining advertising vehicles, and getting the word out EARLY!  We literally had customers asking for the August event date in January so they could mark their calendars. Use inexpensive “save the date” postcards, emails and social media to announce the dates and times of the event.

Product – Because Rick and I are such Halloween enthusiasts, we are always on the lookout for new products every year – even now, long after the store had closed.  Our assortment was expansive, well organized and balanced with perennial favorites as well as hot new items.  And we chose to keep our Halloween assortment family friendly – we would never give our customers a reason to be uncomfortable when shopping in our store.

Merchandising – When our doors opened on the first day of the event, we were full-out Spooksville!  All staff members were in costume, and our daughter Katie greeted customers at the door with candy.  Halloween product permeated almost every department in the store.  Still photographs of famous 50’s monster movies were added to our photo frames.  In the Gourmet food section, we signed our samplings with spooky Halloween names & distributed recipes and instructions for each goody.  Spooky music played throughout the store, and Rick spun his merchandising magic in every display. 

Publicity – When customers saw the store during the Halloween event, we frequently heard, “I bet your house is really decorated to the hilt!”  If they only knew…to say that we decorate for the holidays is an understatement.  So we set our Halloween décor up early, photographed it and featured those “in-use” shots as idea starters for our customers.  This led to feature articles of our Halloween home in the Kansas City Star, and several national décor magazines.  Great free publicity that paid off during the Open House.

So special events give your customers a reason to make an extra trip to your store – whether large or small in scale, they can add extra visibility and $$$ to your operation.  Next stop on the Retail Roadtrip – Event Ideas for both Seasonal and Everyday occasions.  Happy Travels!

Chapter One – “The Beginning”

So you know when you’re about halfway through what you thought was the last in a series of books, and you feel a tinge of sadness, along with a sense of closure…thoroughly enjoying what has been a pleasant journey, but knowing the end is near…and then WHAM!  The author announces that he’s decided to write another book in the anthology.  You thought you were finished, that the story was coming to an end.  But now the future is once again uncertain…where’s the story headed now?  Are you happy that the tale continues? 

A thinly veiled parable to be sure, but such is the state of our lives, my husband and I.   Our closely-knit professional lives were centered at the same company for years, and we hoped that this would be the final chapter in our careers.  But shrinking revenues sometimes equal downsizing, and now it appears that it’s time to write another story.  So we find ourselves traveling back to our retail roots, looking for “what’s next”…

As anyone in the business will tell you, retail can be addictive.  Not as a consumer, but rather a purveyor of consumer goods.  The thrill of going to market, with visions of the merchandising calendar in your head…finding just the right things to flesh out your dream.  And then receiving the goods at your retail establishment, seeing that in fact, your vision was spot on – these goodies were meant to be together.  And finally, seeing the awe on your customers’ faces when they enter the store…knowing that they’ll leave the store with a little bit of heaven – the cycle is complete.

For an egocentric fella like my husband, this semi-annual ritual was a complete rush.  And I have to admit, I loved it, too – to this day, we have people stop us in restaurants, grocery stores, movie theatres, asking WHY?  Why did you close the store?  No one had a retail point of view like yours – we can’t find anything even close to what your store offered.  It’s flattering, to say the least, and most appreciated.  So although we’re older and wider, I mean wiser, we have wondered how best to use our collective experiences in “THE NEXT CHAPTER”.

We’ve been in the consumer goods trade for a long time – in varying capacities, both wholesale and retail – and have learned a great deal through our professional adventures.  Collectively, we have literally studied with retail masters, traveled the world exploring where and how things are made, and felt the satisfaction of seeing our retail vision fully embraced by our customers.

Our collective work experience list is extensive:  visual merchandising, store management, retail training, trend analysis, public speaking, graphic design, advertising and marketing development.  Pretty impressive, huh?  So we think it’s time to pass along that which we’ve been lucky enough to learn along the way.  And goodness knows, in these times, being a retailer is no easy task.  

Whether you’re a manufacturer, a storeowner or a consumer, no one can deny that the past few years in the retail world have been a challenge.  The marketplace changes at the speed of light, and shoppers are no longer trading savvy design and quality for price and convenience – they want it all.  And with good reason – when discretionary income decreases, shoppers become smarter.  And the retailers that want to persevere have to do the same.

Consumers may be attracted to different types of products than they were, say, five years ago (or five days ago…), but in the end, our basic goals for shopping are the same:  we want what’s hot, what helps or what makes us feel good…what creates the “shopping high.”  Sometimes, it just takes a different perspective, a pair (or two) of fresh eyes, to see what magic is right in front of you.  To recognize all the possibilities that your unique retail venue could offer.

So we’re hanging out a shingle – with a title I’m not particularly fond of – CONSULTANTS.  Believe me, we’ve seen good and bad examples of this profession, and sometimes knowing what NOT to do is as important as having all the “answers”.  I prefer something more compassionate – mentor, counselor, guide…?!  Regardless of our new professional monikers, we’re hoping for our next endeavors to be helpful, profitable and energizing to all of our new clients.

And so, here we are – standing at a crossroads once again, choosing a path…this blog will help to inform all interested parties as to where this journey will take us.  We’ll be setting up a presence on the internet soon that will outline the various services we will have available as “merchandising mentors.” And I’ll post frequent updates here on our blog about our “Retail Roadtrip.” Who knows where this next journey will lead…hopefully to a place where we can be helpful, successful, and joyful.  Everyone could use a little more joy in their lives, I think…we’d love to help.  Stay tuned…