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Why some stores strike me as special

Gary Evans, Senior editor -- Furniture Today, February 16, 2003

Stores make an impression on you. And if you think about the ones that make a good impression, they probably have one thing in common: They're a happenin' place.

That's either because the place is filled with activity or something's going on that does something special for you — that benefits you, interests you or, for a brief moment, lights up your life.

Ikea is one of those places for me. So I read with interest a little while back our page 1 story by Clint Engel on the new Ikea store in Conshohocken, Pa., a home furnishings behemoth stocking 9,000 items with expectations of grossing $100 million in its first year.

My interest stems largely from my only visit to Ikea, to the store in Tustin, Calif., while in that neck of the woods on family business. The visit was part of the trip's itinerary — sort of an educational project. My wife and I arrived before the store opened and joined a small crowd waiting for the doors to open.

People can make a place interesting, especially when there are lots of them. But Ikea does it on its own. First, there were free cookies, coffee and cider at the entrance. And then lots of interesting things to see. It was a fun place.

It was so much fun, in fact, that my wife and I made a second trip to the store that same day, the first having been cut short because of other appointments. After lots of browsing, she bought coffee cups in pastel yellows, blues and greens, and Japanese drawings. I bought odd products like a thing-a-ma-jig that hides phone cords.

The big question: Why would anybody buy stuff like that and lug it all the way from California to North Carolina? Cheap prices? More likely because the store environment says loud and clear: Have fun; buy stuff.

Old Navy's like that. It rocks. It's fun — even if you're not in the store's youth-oriented demographic — because of props like an old pickup truck blaring music, blinking lights, and energetic clerks with headsets. No wonder Old Navy is the first chain to reach $1 billion in sales in its first four years.

Stores don't have to be big to be compelling. Much of that is in the eye of the beholder. For me, the Dillard's in High Point's Oak Hollow Mall is cool, although basically it's the same department store environment you can find in any city anywhere. What makes it special to me is that they have the best tie-shirt match of any place I've ever seen. That grabs me and makes me want to buy.

It's easier to say than do, but you've got to get folks into a store before they'll buy. Creativity plays a part, and people respond accordingly. If all else fails, invite Martha Stewart to sign furniture purchases. That should do the trick.

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