Stationery but growing
Monogram Shoppe expands store, clientele by adding products from defunct neighbors
By Sherry Slater~The Journal Gazette
Garland's Art Galleries. Jorgensens. Oz Gallery & Gifts. Hoffman Collection.
One by one, over the past three years, high-end retail stores have closed in and around Covington Plaza.
The trend worries Sara Keltsch, who owns The Monogram Shoppe in that west-side shopping center. “Each time one of those stores closes, you think, ‘Am I going to be next? Have I made the right choices?' ” she said.
Customers and mentors say Keltsch has made some savvy choices in her stationery and gifts store. Those decisions include adding Mariposa, Byers' Choice Ltd. and Crane products - popular lines once sold by the closed stores. By reaching out to those loyal local customers, Keltsch has increased her own base with shoppers who are grateful they can still find their favorite collectibles in town.
But Keltsch has been highly selective, resisting the temptation to stray beyond her niche.
Monogram Shoppe expands store, clientele by adding products from defunct neighbors
By Sherry Slater~The Journal Gazette
Garland's Art Galleries. Jorgensens. Oz Gallery & Gifts. Hoffman Collection.
One by one, over the past three years, high-end retail stores have closed in and around Covington Plaza.
The trend worries Sara Keltsch, who owns The Monogram Shoppe in that west-side shopping center. “Each time one of those stores closes, you think, ‘Am I going to be next? Have I made the right choices?' ” she said.
Customers and mentors say Keltsch has made some savvy choices in her stationery and gifts store. Those decisions include adding Mariposa, Byers' Choice Ltd. and Crane products - popular lines once sold by the closed stores. By reaching out to those loyal local customers, Keltsch has increased her own base with shoppers who are grateful they can still find their favorite collectibles in town.
But Keltsch has been highly selective, resisting the temptation to stray beyond her niche.
The Monogram Shoppe is in its seventh location in 28 years. The store started in Time Corners, where it had four addresses, before moving to Covington Plaza, where it is in its third space.
In July, Keltsch moved the store next door from about 1,700 square feet to about 3,300 square feet. The larger space includes an area that's visible but set apart from the rest of the store.
“Our wedding business increased a great deal, and what we needed to do was showcase our lines,” she said.
Her success, Keltsch's supporters say, stems from her ability to stock the store with items that perfectly suite her clientele.
Carol Lupke, a customer since the store opened, depends on the store for small rhythm instruments she gives her young dance students as Christmas gifts.
“Sara has always been able to find a source for the perfect item,” she said. Lupke also buys her personal and business stationery from Keltsch. “I don't know how I would get along without Sara and The Monogram Shoppe,” she said. “Sometimes I just walk in the door and say, ‘Help!' ”
Rolene Popp, another loyal customer, favors the Mariposa line of serving pieces, including platters, bowls and tongs. Mariposa, which markets its lines as a blend between elegance and whimsy, works well for informal dining, Popp said. She likes that it doesn't need to be polished like silver does.
Popp bought the brand at Jorgensens before that family-owned store closed in January 2006. Jorgensens, an expansive 18,000-square-foot store, carried dozens of china, silver and crystal patterns and dozens of other items. Popp thinks Keltsch made an astute choice to look past the rest and choose Mariposa to sell.
When Oz closed in March, The Monogram Shoppe picked up the Byers' Choice line of collectible Christmas caroler statues. When Hoffman Collection closed in December, Keltsch picked up the Crane stationery line and some etched glassware that's identical to what Hoffman sold, even though it's a different line.
When those retailers were open, Keltsch resisted duplicating their specialties and even referred her customers to those neighboring stores when they asked for certain lines of collectibles. Now that they've closed because of poor sales or retirement, Keltsch has reached out to their loyal customer bases.
Maurice Keltsch, Sara's father, co-owned Keltsch Pharmacy for about 50 years. His retail experience allows him to advise his daughter when they take early-morning walks with her dog.
He doesn't believe in trying to flood the market with merchandise. Just because you sell 10 of something doesn't mean you can sell 50 more of the same thing. But, the father stressed, his daughter makes the final decisions.
“She has the ability to decide what is something that really will sell,” he said. “I think she has a good sense of business and sometimes might go overboard, but she works her way through it.”
Larry Lucas, president of Larry Lucas Inc., also gives Keltsch business advice. He's an Atlanta-based manufacturers' representative for 100 children's lines and sells to higher-end retail stores and boutiques.
Lucas, who has been in business 42 years, guides Keltsch on what the hot new items will be. He also encourages her to know her market but diversify within it. Keltsch has expanded beyond the initial stationery focus of her store to include baby shower gifts, birthday gifts, items for tweens and items geared toward indulgent grandmothers.
Lucas also steers Keltsch away from some items. Maybe they are too expensive for her customer base. Or maybe they're unlikely to sell well. Or maybe another manufacturer makes a similar but superior product.
“She's very receptive to new ideas and suggestions,” Lucas said. “She definitely has a great flair for merchandising.”
Her particular blend of “clever, interesting” merchandise attracts middle-class shoppers who want to splurge during good times and upper-class shoppers who don't want to travel all the way to Chicago during bad times, Keltsch said.
“I've got nothing that if people didn't have them, their life would be horrible,” she said. “But having it makes their lives more fun.”
Keltsch said the best business advice she's received was to stay focused. She remembers that when past customers from closed neighboring stores ask her to pick up more lines those retailers carried.
“I'd rather have a small thing I'm perfect at than be a generalist and not be good at anything,” she said. “A lot of times you try to be everything to everybody. But then, you can't.”
“Our wedding business increased a great deal, and what we needed to do was showcase our lines,” she said.
Her success, Keltsch's supporters say, stems from her ability to stock the store with items that perfectly suite her clientele.
Carol Lupke, a customer since the store opened, depends on the store for small rhythm instruments she gives her young dance students as Christmas gifts.
“Sara has always been able to find a source for the perfect item,” she said. Lupke also buys her personal and business stationery from Keltsch. “I don't know how I would get along without Sara and The Monogram Shoppe,” she said. “Sometimes I just walk in the door and say, ‘Help!' ”
Rolene Popp, another loyal customer, favors the Mariposa line of serving pieces, including platters, bowls and tongs. Mariposa, which markets its lines as a blend between elegance and whimsy, works well for informal dining, Popp said. She likes that it doesn't need to be polished like silver does.
Popp bought the brand at Jorgensens before that family-owned store closed in January 2006. Jorgensens, an expansive 18,000-square-foot store, carried dozens of china, silver and crystal patterns and dozens of other items. Popp thinks Keltsch made an astute choice to look past the rest and choose Mariposa to sell.
When Oz closed in March, The Monogram Shoppe picked up the Byers' Choice line of collectible Christmas caroler statues. When Hoffman Collection closed in December, Keltsch picked up the Crane stationery line and some etched glassware that's identical to what Hoffman sold, even though it's a different line.
When those retailers were open, Keltsch resisted duplicating their specialties and even referred her customers to those neighboring stores when they asked for certain lines of collectibles. Now that they've closed because of poor sales or retirement, Keltsch has reached out to their loyal customer bases.
Maurice Keltsch, Sara's father, co-owned Keltsch Pharmacy for about 50 years. His retail experience allows him to advise his daughter when they take early-morning walks with her dog.
He doesn't believe in trying to flood the market with merchandise. Just because you sell 10 of something doesn't mean you can sell 50 more of the same thing. But, the father stressed, his daughter makes the final decisions.
“She has the ability to decide what is something that really will sell,” he said. “I think she has a good sense of business and sometimes might go overboard, but she works her way through it.”
Larry Lucas, president of Larry Lucas Inc., also gives Keltsch business advice. He's an Atlanta-based manufacturers' representative for 100 children's lines and sells to higher-end retail stores and boutiques.
Lucas, who has been in business 42 years, guides Keltsch on what the hot new items will be. He also encourages her to know her market but diversify within it. Keltsch has expanded beyond the initial stationery focus of her store to include baby shower gifts, birthday gifts, items for tweens and items geared toward indulgent grandmothers.
Lucas also steers Keltsch away from some items. Maybe they are too expensive for her customer base. Or maybe they're unlikely to sell well. Or maybe another manufacturer makes a similar but superior product.
“She's very receptive to new ideas and suggestions,” Lucas said. “She definitely has a great flair for merchandising.”
Her particular blend of “clever, interesting” merchandise attracts middle-class shoppers who want to splurge during good times and upper-class shoppers who don't want to travel all the way to Chicago during bad times, Keltsch said.
“I've got nothing that if people didn't have them, their life would be horrible,” she said. “But having it makes their lives more fun.”
Keltsch said the best business advice she's received was to stay focused. She remembers that when past customers from closed neighboring stores ask her to pick up more lines those retailers carried.
“I'd rather have a small thing I'm perfect at than be a generalist and not be good at anything,” she said. “A lot of times you try to be everything to everybody. But then, you can't.”
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