My sister and I have considered opening up a gift shop in the small resort town close to my home. There are a number of small shops already in business there. The chamber of commerce is trying to revitalize the small community by providing unique shops for the local people, as well as the recreational visitors that frequent the area. We have visited the shops and have spoken to the owners. They try to have different merchandise in each store so that they are not competing with each other. One store specializes in gourmet foods from the area. She also has a small coffee shop in one corner of her store. Another shop has health related merchandise and also jewelry from the south west. A third store specializes in craft and art items that are made by local crafters. The other owners thought that a shop specializing in special gifts would be a great addition to the town.

My sister and I began looking through wholesale catalogs that feature special gifts. This seemed like a good area to get into because there are so many special gifts to choose from in a wide range of prices. We did not know if we should concentrate on one theme, or if we should try to keep our merchandise in a certain price range. We both enjoy shopping so we decided to drive to several neighboring resort towns that have shops that include special gifts. One owner was very helpful to us. She said that when she started in the business she tried to have a Victorian theme. She stocked everything from Victorian collectibles to Christmas decorations and special gifts. She found that this greatly limited the number of customers that came into her store. If the customer did not like Victorian items they would not come in. She also served ice cream cones in one area of the store, but mostly the Victorian customers were the ones that also bought ice cream cones.

This was difficult for my sister and me to believe because there was a steady stream to the ice cream counter when we were in the store. The owner stated that when she began having a more diverse inventory she automatically started having more customers. She advised to have special gifts in a variety of prices. She offered to help us by sharing her advice when ever we wanted it. She also showed us which catalog companies offer the highest quality for the most reasonable prices.

We are looking forward to setting up our store. It is going to be a shop of special gifts and treats. We are going to have different sections in the store that will feature a variety of special gifts for the home as well as personal gifts.