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Retail Fixture Innovation: Avatars and Mirrors

Jun 20th, 2011 by

New digitally tuned-in retail fixtures may help department stores regain some of the fashion authority they have given up to specialty stores and mass merchants.  The Virtual Personal stylist, developed by nG Connect Program, takes away some of the frustration of fitting rooms and messy makeup counters by enabling customers to “try on” apparel and make-up without physically putting anything on.

Fashion avatars
The new technology requires the fashion customer to create an avatar based on her specific measurements in a quick and easy in-store 3D scanning process.  What makes the process so exciting is that the personal avatar, once downloaded, can be accessed anywhere in-store via mobile device, or online by the customer to try on fashion items or test beauty products virtually.

The Virtual Personal Stylist is an enhanced retail experience created by a combination of innovative 3D electronics, video conferencing, cloud computing, and ultra-high bandwidth connectivity.  An ng Connect Program member, VisionMAX, integrated the scanning, avatar creation, in-store display, and online shopping technologies into asystem that also permits users to view interactive fashion videos, get style tips from fashion gurus, and sample products on their avatars.

Magic mirror
The Virtual Personal Stylist is just one example of augmented reality technology being used to engage customers, develop customer loyalty, and increase sales.  Last October at the Fashion Night Out event in New York City, Macy’s introduced  The Magic Fitting Room, a 72-inch mirror controlled by an Apple iPad.

Customers have a digital photo taken by a camera attached to the mirror to register their position and body orientation before trying on virtual apparel that is projected onto their image.  Not only can the Macy’s shopper view what her fashion selection virtually, but she can also send images by text, e-mail, or Facebook to get her friends’ opinions.

Merging physical and digital
Christopher Enright, chief innovation officer with LBi, the digital marketing company responsible for creating the magic mirror says, “As the role of retail changes and the lines between physical and digital continue to blur, agencies are tasked with providing innovative solutions.”

The entertaining and convenience-oriented technology seems to be meeting the favor of the public.  Within the first week, thousands stepped in front of the mirror for their virtual wardrobe change, according to CNN.com.

“Reaching out to and engaging with the digital-savvy, young consumer is something all retailers are striving to do,” scomments Joe Feczko, Macy’s senior vice president for innovation.  “The Magic Fitting Room marries together our goals as a marketer and consumers’ expectations perfectly.”

Interested in exploring your own ideas for fixture innovations?  Contact Misty Wilfing at mwilfing@gabriellogan.com or 800.780.0004.

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New Spin on Wooden Fixtures in Express Prototype

Jun 10th, 2011 by

Express’s launch of its new concept retail store in King of Prussia Mall outside Philadelphia will introduce to American mainstream customers the unique vision and off-the-wall style of Japanese design firm Wonderwall.  A visit to the Wonderwall web site alone is worth the trip, but the new Express store is a true happening.

Creative use of wood
This innovative new retail space continues the tradition of unisex jeans that has been with us for decades, but with a new spin.  A “Denim Lab,” featured as the store’s primary focal point, is highlighted by a wood ceiling in oak with a suspended oak trellis.  Outrigger-mounted wooden shelves are framed by black velvet curtains.  Related fashion items are merchandised on wooden tables with black used as an accent color.

The richness of wooden materials is brought to life by an LED lighting installation of 100 silver globes.

A space for the GenY consumer
To engage the college-age Millennnial shopper, interactive touch screen computer stations are placed strategically in the environment.  These electronic merchandising enhancements allow customers to shop online and browse the Express Facebook page and Twitter feed.  Express fashion shows are  streamed continuously by mirrored video monitors in the front of store and cashwrap.

Will Japanese creativity jolt the American store design scene?
Wonderwall has been around since 2000, founded by Masamichi Katayama, who describes himself as a “total concept” designer.  Katayama’s mission is to create environments that “touch the subconscious of the consumer.”  His design studio seems to be giving a new emphasis to the use of wood to add warmth to contemporary retail design, as seen in this space for And Accessoire in Tokyo’s Aoyama district.  The new Express concept will soon have a presence in the Midwest at the Kenwood Towne Center in Cincinnati.

Gabriel Logan has a reputation for exceptional craftsmanship in manufacturing wood fixtures for retail and institutional spaces.  We have been working with Whole Foods Markets since 2005 to create engaging, sustainable retail interiors.  Contact Misty Wilfing at mwilfing@gabriellogan.com for more information.

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Gabriel Logan in a Nutshell

May 30th, 2011 by

In each of our blog posts we’ve been talking about what makes retailing exciting and retailers interesting to work with. We hope you’ve enjoyed our insights into consumer markets, technological trends, branding, fixture innovations, new retail formats, green building practices, distribution strategy, customer communications, and more. This week we want to let you know what Gabriel Logan is all about.

Manufacturing solutions
Gabriel Logan is a nationally recognized manufacturing authority for innovative, cost-saving retail display, educational, and institutional fixtures of superior craftsmanship. We have partnered with some of the world’s most successful businesses and non-profit organizations to deliver rewarding and memorable experiences to their consumers.

We specialize in slatwall, custom-designed fixtures, cash wraps, display cases, and fitting rooms, geared toward new store roll-out programs and remodeling programs for one-of-a-kind shops as well as large-scale, mass-market retailers.

Commitment
We are committed to design flexibility, giving retailers more choices among attractive and functional custom fixtures. Our people, technology, skill, and dedication allow us to provide a level of excellence in manufacturing unparalleled in this industry.

Our associates are committed to bringing quality, integrity, and world-class customer service to every project. Our on-site design and engineering team works closely with clients to develop the look and feel of fixtures to meet each client’s distinctive needs.

Plant
We have over 300,000 square feet of manufacturing, shipping and warehouse space, cutting edge-equipment, and technology which enable us to precisely manufacture fixtures for large roll-out programs, remodeling programs or small quantity runs with ease.

Located in southwestern Ohio, we have been HUBZone (Historically Underutilized Business Zone) certified by the United States Small Business Administration in Washington, DC. This certification is awarded to qualified small businesses located in distressed areas of the United States to help stimulate economic development and to help increase employment rates. This unique certification enables us to be qualified for contracting opportunities with the state and federal government agencies.

Our promise
Gabriel Logan understands that each client’s store fixture needs are unique.  That’s why we take the time to assess our clients’ individual requirements and address the important issues – design, budget, and time frame.   Our clients can expect our creative solutions to meet bottom-line requirements and exceed expectations.   Each of our clients receives our dedicated attention and commitment on every project from start to finish.   All of our design and engineering plans are produced with our clients’ success in mind.

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Healthcare: A New Retail Frontier

May 19th, 2011 by

The poor economy, constantly rising healthcare costs, higher healthcare insurance premiums, and general healthcare industry upheaval are causing consumers to cut back on medical use.  Some are forgoing expensive visits to traditional doctors’ offices to seek more affordable sources.

“People just aren’t using healthcare like they have.  Utilization is lower than we expected, and it’s unusual,” said Wayne DeVeydt, WellPoint Inc.’s chief financial officer in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Shopping centers for medical services
This is where some traditional retail formats, such as the “medical mall,” enter the picture.  Like the traditional shopping mall, these centers offer one-stop shopping convenience, but for related healthcare services such as pulmonary, dentistry, pediatrics/podiatry, neurology, oncology, family practice, pharmacies, lab services and imaging all under one roof.  The mix varies greatly from center to center, but the good news is that clustering medical services saves patients money by offering medical treatment on an outpatient basis.  Less patient time in the hospital contributes to lowering healthcare costs.

The concept offers a challenge to architects to emulate the “retail experience” philosophy of today’s innovative shopping centers, but thus far exciting design has not been a trademark of the medical mall.

Mass market retailers capitalizing on the trend
In response to today’s cost-conscious healthcare consumer, retailers such as Target, Walmart, Shopko, and CVS have developed their own versions of the “Minute Clinic.” These small, in-store facilities deliver health screenings and vaccinations and treat common illnesses, minor injuries, and skin conditions.  Admission is on a non-appointment basis, and care is administered by family nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

Walmart partners with local hospitals and leases space to clinical companies such as Saltanic, which has doctors on staff and offers a wider range of services including x-rays.  Target, on the other hand, has taken a slower, more experimental approach after closing the MinuteClinics it had opened in a limited number of stores.

Humanizing the hospital
In his ground-breaking book, If Disney Ran your Hospital, Fred Lee proposes that the hospital’s job is to maximize the patient care experience and minimize anxiety, just as the world’s successful retailers maximize the customer experience.  Lee identifies a major opportunity for hospital management to cultivate the patient’s and their family’s loyalty as a way of bringing them back and spreading the word of quality treatment.

Retailers inspired by Lee’s advice are opening stores within hospitals.  The most notable example is the Build-A-BearWorkshop located in Cook Children’s Medical Center (Fort Worth, Texas).  Its product offer incorporates a medical-center theme with patient gowns, lab coats, doctors’ scrubs, and medical outfits available to outfit your bear.  Family members can also record their own voices in a recorded get-well message inside a gift bear.

Fundamental change
There is no question that healthcare is becoming a new consumer market.  The New York Times recently reported, “Even with a halting economic recovery, doctors and others say many people are still extremely budget-conscious, signaling the possibility of a fundamental change in Americans’ appetite for health care.”  Will retailers, hospitals and doctors take advantage of this shift in public attitude to meet the new demand?

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Where Digital and Store Meet

May 11th, 2011 by

In-store web access
In an effort to draw customer focus to the store as the primary means of merchandise distribution, some retailers are turning to in-store Internet-connected kiosks to engage customers, provide convenience, and increase shopping satisfaction.

A digital misstep
Best Buy was one of the pioneers of the customer-oriented Internet workstation in the early 2000′s when it installed computers in its stores to facilitate online product research.  Unfortunately the company advertised lower prices on its web site compared to the higher prices on its in-store kiosk, suggesting that the bargains were no longer available.

As a result of lawsuits filed in Connecticut and California, Best Buy management “fixed” the problem by adding a banner to each page on the in-store web site indicating that the prices shown were in-store, and did not reflect the pricing of BestBuy.com.

JC Penney fine-tunes the Internet kiosk
This year JC Penney announced that its Findmore 42-inch interactive touch-screen station will be expanded to 120 stores across the United States. Designed to provide product 
information for customers and sales associates, the sleek, customer-engaging fixture links shoppers to jcp.com‘s 250,000 online products.

The new technology is not really a traditional “kiosk”, but more like a plasma-screen television monitor, in portrait ratherthan landscape position.  Shoppers can not only view Penney’s vast assortment of merchandise, but can also locate colors, styles and items not available or out of stock in the store.  Interactive, media-rich editorial content, highlights key seasonal women’s trends. The Findmore fixture incorporates social-media-like features such as permitting shoppers to add items to an online “dressing room” and e-mail their choices to themselves or friends.

Perhaps the most compelling feature of the technology is to ability finalize the sale.  Customers can purchase online items from the Findmore fixture and have them shipped to their home or shipped for free to the store for later pickup.  Payment can be done by printing out a receipt and purchasing an online item at an in-store register, with other purchases.

Will the kiosk Internet station thrive?
JC Penny management believes that the Findmore system is a solid retail strategy for the future.  “Offering an in-store digital experience that drives additional sales is a true differentiator for JC Penney, and continues to build on our leadership in the digital space as we merge our online and in-store shopping experiences,” says Tom Nealon, group executive vice president.

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Retail Brand and Service Synergy

May 2nd, 2011 by

Gone are the days of retail product-and-service assortments that reflect a single brand!  New store brand synergy is juxtaposing complementary brands in retail environments that tempt new customers, provide time-saving convenience, and give shoppers a satisfying, novel customer experience.

International, avant-garde retail brand convergence
The U.K.’s avant-garde Monocle Magazine that features an inventive mix of international affairs, business, culture, and design, now has five Monocle shops internationally.  Locations include some of the world’s most trend-setting cities – London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and recently New York City’s West Village.

What’s most exciting is the merchandise mix that reflects the eclecticism of Monocle Magazine by bringing together fashion and lifestyle products from around the globe, including Porter bags from Japan, Comme Des Garçons’ Hinoki fragrances, home furnishings from the U.K.’s Another Country, Skeppshult bikes from Sweden, and collaborations with other brands such as Oliver Spencer British menswear, and Japan’s ultra-trendy Tomorrowland.  Fashion-conscious, trend-smitten shoppers need visit only one store to satisfy their retail therapy urges.

Wash while you shop
Now Kmart shoppers can do their laundry while taking advantage of Blue-Light specials and checking out the latest Martha Stewart home textiles and Jaclyn Smith women’s fashions.

The Kwash experiment in Iowa City offers the largest washing machines in the area, ranging in size from 18 pounds, to 30, 40, 60, and 80-pound.  Prices vary by load size, with the 30-pound washer costing $2.97 a load, and the 60-pound version $5.97.  With 31 washers and 30 dryers, the new facility also features free WiFi, wash and fold service, a children’s play area, laundry-specific merchandise sold within the laundromat area, and an attendant on duty.  There is no standing in line at the store’s checkouts – the laundromat has a full-service Kmart register.

Feed the family/buy a new home
RE/MAX of New England has signed a five-year deal with Stop & Shop supermarkets to open 17 in-store branch offices in the grocer’s stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Marketing expert Scott Testa questions the mutual value of the new venture.  He says, “It’s not like a bank where consumers have transactions a couple of times a week.  Consumers use a real estate agent maybe once every two-or-three years.”  He does recognize the advantage of giving grocery store customers the opportunity to browse listings.

Jay Hummer, executive vice president of RE/MAX of New England, conversely, views the venture as a chance for his agents to purchase a high-visibility, convenient office space with plenty of parking.  As landlord, Stop & Shop collects rent from the space.  “It’s a relaxed way for people to meet agents,’’ he said. “When the time comes for them to buy a house, hopefully they’ll have a relationship with that broker they met at Stop & Shop.”

The RE/MAX micro offices are run as franchises and will be staffed a minimum of 50 hours.  The locations are turnkey operations for which RE/MAX has planned and designed all the details, down to the fixtures and furniture.

New ways of doing business
With more and more non-store competition from online retailing and smartphone shopping, retail brand-and-service convergence seems to make sense.  The store of tomorrow will require a new way of doing business.  Retailers who respond will be able to capture a larger and more loyal shopper base for the long term.

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Retail Fixture Innovations: Keeping Things Moving

Apr 25th, 2011 by

Are static retail fixtures limited in their ability meet consumer demands for newness and store excitement?  International retailers are creating stores that change to meet customers’ moods, attitudes, and tastes.  Flexibility is being achieved not only through the tried-and-true technique of fixtures on wheels, but by means of changing stage sets, revolving design walls, and collaborations with media, museums, and other institutions.


Gap’s pop-up offspring
The ultimate in flexibility has to be to change the whole store using simple props and flats as in minimalist theater.  Next to Gap’s 5th Avenue flagship store is a retail space that is a permanent pop-up shop that houses collaborations with designers, brands, and institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art based on seasonal and cultural events.

Recent performers on the pop-up stage have included a fitness lab to encourage healthier lifestyles, a presentation of ball gowns worn by celebrities at a Metropolitan Museum of Art gala, and collaboration with Glamour magazine’s “Body by Glamour” salon.  Merchandise in the Glamour program included hoodies, running shorts, gym bags, and sweatbands, coordinated with an online 12-week plan to monitor nutritional intake, exercise and sleep patterns.

The wall as ultimate catalyst for change
Supermarket Sarah is an online shop,  exhibition medium, and retail innovation run out of Sarah Bagner’s home on London’s Portobello Road.  The phenomenon, featuring a collection of vintage clothing and objects of desire, has to be seen to be understood.

Sarah has had installations in galleries, shop fronts, bars, receptions, and most recently a 30-foot-high wall at Selfridges, London.  The concept provides a sort of designer’s palette for an eclectic selection of new and vintage clothes, artwork, and objects ranging from plastic-sushi zip drives to ruby-slipper roller skates.  Sarah doesn’t limit her selection to her own tastes, but invites designers the likes of Fred Butler, Patternity, Donna Wilson, Tatty Devine, and many more to contribute to the displays.

Moving pods to promote social interaction
Not only mainstream retail, but also museum shops are creating flexible spaces to enhance the retail experience.  The MS Bookstore/Café at the Muzeum Sztuki in Lodz, Poland, employs moving furniture and booths housed in mobile wooden pods to encourage museum visitors to linger after viewing the exhibition.

The mobile features of the fixtures are designed to reflect the curators’ desire to break down boundaries among different art media, integrating all forms of art into one living art organism.  The organic nature of the museum’s collection will be supported by changing the café and bookstore design frequently.

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Mobile Retailing: Now on Wheels!

Apr 15th, 2011 by

“Mobile retailing” no longer involves only smartphones.  It’s hard to believe, but shoppers get more demanding year by year, forcing retailers to be ever more creative in their merchandise distribution methods and the customer experience they deliver.  Several new examples of stores on wheels are offering unique ways of connecting with shoppers where they live.

Fashion, fun, kitchens, and high-tech shoes

San Antonio's Gypsy Couture can be booked for parties.

Gypsy Couture is billed as “a unique traveling boutique specializing in fashion-forward clothing and accessories.” The hip San Antonio emporium, housed in a vintage trailer, can be booked for a girls’ night out or special event.  Owner Cordie Jasinsky loves the savings on shop space rental, but points out that the enterprise is not overhead free. Business costs include around $2,000 a month in diesel fuel, higher insurance premiums, and hotel bills and other expenses while on the road.

Selling T-shirts and toys to the tune of a hip-hop soundtrack, Brooklyn’s Cookies-n-Cream is actually a converted DHL truck with a window cut into one side.  When parked on Broadway, the Cookies-n-Cream van is welcomed by clothing shops because the whole package along with its hip-hop music causes passers-by to slow down and possibly venture inside the stationary retail stores.

Cookies-n-Cream started out with a $10,000 investment.

Retail on wheels is not limited to hip and fun fashion merchandise.  International home appliance and HDTV manufacturer Haier showcases a range of products, including washing machines, stoves, and refrigerators inside a traveling van.  The interior is fitted out to look like a residential interior to give customers an idea of how the merchandise would look in their homes.  Salespersons are positioned on the street to invite the curious in for a guided tour.

Haier retail vans are home appliance showrooms.

In Europe, Nomis Vanguard sports shoes employs a mobile retailing concept to convince soccer, rugby, and field hockey players to adopt their brand.  The company feared store competition from big brands such as Nike, Umbro, Addidas, and Puma so they went directly to their customer. Drivers of Nomis retail vans are sports experts who coach or play soccer themselves.  They are sincere sports enthusiasts who give useful tips and insights to customers trying on the shoes.

Will this trend take off?
Patricia Norins, specialty retail expert, says , “…it feels trendy, like the hip new thing – people are interested in different types of shopping experiences and are looking for new venues.” She points out that the mobile retail format creates an urgency to shop because the potential customer isn’t sure that the “store” will ever be back.  Then there is the uniqueness factor.  Mobile boutiques are beyond the standardized mix of stores you see in shopping centers and malls.

Barriers to entry are fairly low, depending upon the type of vehicle chosen to provide the wheels.  The three Cookies-n-Cream entrepreneurs got their showroom in motion for a total cost of $10,000: the cost of a used truck, refitting it with a sales window, stereo system and vinyl exterior in the same design as one of their T-shirts.  However vending licenses can be difficult, with New York City approving only 853 $100-$200 permits annually for new ventures. Other cities permit only food sales from moving vehicles.

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Retail Service Innovation: the Tablet

Apr 6th, 2011 by

The launch of the iPad only one year ago spurred demand for the computer tablet.  There are more than 100 tablet devices from over 60 different manufacturers now being offered for public consumption.

Retail innovation
Quick to join the tablet wave, innovative retailers are employing various versions of the tablet phenomenon to enhance customer service.  Real-time access to information on the web combined with one-on-one assistance from sales staff is being used to create an enhanced shopping experience that leads to customer loyalty and repeat visits.

iPod touch specially adapted for the Disney Store

Tablet-enabled sales persons are freed from desk or counter locations to interact with customers and facilitate and complete transactions.  Shopping becomes more personalized because sales staff can access store inventory as well as customers’ previous purchasing history and preferences.  One-on-one advice gives customers confidence in the store and builds brand image.

In-store applications
In the Netherlands, customers at the Miele appliance showroom in Vianen (Utrecht) register basic information and are issued an iPod touch which leads them through the store on a personalized guided tour based upon their preferences.  As they pass digital signage displays at various points in the store, the hand-held device delivers product information based upon the visitor’s profile.  An add benefit is that Miele management can gather valuable customer information such as shopping routes and dwell points, and identify products that get attention.

Miele showroom, Vianen, Netherlands

In a major advancement in customer service at the point of sale, Home Depot announced at the end of 2010 that the company was equipping associates in 1,970 stores with 30,000 multi-function handheld devices.

These tablet adaptations feature a combination of mobile POS/real-time inventory checking capabilities and phone/store walkie-talkie features.  Staff can now be more efficient in stocking shelves and locating inventory.  Instant communication both in-store and with other locations is now possible, as is completing transactions anywhere in the store.

Using a specially modified iPod touch device, employees in the new Disney Store prototype can take orders from shoppers and either complete the sale on the spot by swiping a credit card, or  print out a receipt that shoppers would take to the checkout counter.  These point-of-sale technological wonders also enable Disney Store associates to display electronically the full range of 5,000 products available on the Disney Store web site instead of being limited to the 1,200 items available in a typical store.

What happens next?
“Big-box warehouse stores are the easiest for wireless connectivity, and the relatively long tenure of Home Depot’s store associates enable the change we see here,” Greg Girard, Program Director, IDC Retail Insights says.  “At the other extreme, it would be a Herculean effort to bring wireless into Macy’s Herald Square store, for example.”

Home Depot's handheld mobile customer-service device

Is tablet-enabled customer service here to stay, boosted by iPad popularity?  The use of the technology in a wide variety of store types from showrooms to large-scale retail and specialty stores seems to open up a world of possibilities.  Is Macy’s really out of the question?

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Will there be a Mini Walmart around the Corner from You in the Near Future?

Mar 27th, 2011 by

As early as September of last year, several news sources, including Forbes, announced that Walmart was scouting locations for a new small retail format.  Now it is official.  On March 16, the company that made popularized the supercenter concept at 185,000 sq. ft., began construction on Walmart Express, a 14,400-square-foot store in Gentry, Arkansas, a town of 3,158 about 20 miles southwest of the company’s Bentonville headquarters.

The Express concept
According to Business Week, which studied building permits filed in Gentry, the Express store will occupy around five acres, cost $1.2 million to build, offer up 75 parking spaces, and have just three-four checkouts.

Local planning directors in the rural Arkansas community revealed that the store will have fresh produce, refrigerated and frozen foods, and a pharmacy. Product display will be limited to around a dozen aisles.

Smaller stores not new in the Walmart empire
Previous experiments with smaller stores include the Neighboorhood Markets, opened in 1998, and Marketside dating from 2008.  The Neighborhood Markets are 42,000 sq. ft. in size and currently number 183.  The format is like a shrunken Walmart superstore with an edited assortment of food/drug/general merchandise.  Reports are that the concept did not deliver the return on investment that the company expected.

Neighborhood Market, 42,000 sq. ft.

Currently there are only four Marketside stores, all in Arizona.  Walmart describes them as “small community pilot grocery stores specializing in fresh, delicious meals at great prices,” occupying around 15,000 sq. ft.  The concept emphasizes a fresh food image, “restaurant-quality” prepared meals featuring freshly baked breads and a broad assortment of wines, 200 of which sell for under $10 a bottle.

Marketside store, 15,000 sq. ft.

Prognosis for the future
Walmart shares have dropped 2.6 percent over the past 12 months and industry analysts believe that future profitability dependent upon continuing to build new stores beyond its current 4,000+ outlets in the U.S.

“I see this as a smart move, instead of coming into a market as a 900-pound gorilla,” said Faith Consolo, chairman of real estate firm Prudential Douglas Elliman’s retail leasing division. “They’re on an aggressive roll,” she added. “This is a creative time.  Everyone is thinking out of the box.”

Wall Street Strategies analyst Brian Sozzi wrote that any move by Wal-Mart to smaller stores is both “wise and long overdue.”  He believes that opening stores in urban markets would give the discounter access to higher income consumers who “could be tapped for sales of gross-margin-enhancing categories.”

Local competition
The new Walmart 14,000 sq. ft. concept may not prove to pose as serious a treat to small/local businesses as the original Walmart discount store in the 70′s and the supercenter in later decades.

Observers believe that local small supermarket operators have built up a loyal customer base and have learned to use attentive customer service as a competitive advantage. Kenneth Stone, who has been researching Walmart for the past 20 years as an economics professor at Iowa State says,  “People have learned to compete with them over the years.  There are many examples around the country of small businesses that are very astute at offering what the public wants.”

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