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By Susan Derby It’s a little odd to think that a successful retail shop started from a tragic event, but… In January 1996, Officer Brian Klinefelter, a police officer in St. Joseph, Minn., was shot several times after stopping a car suspected to be involved in a robbery. He died, leaving his wife, Wendy, to raise their two-month-old daughter on her own. But from the largest adversity often comes the greatest triumph. Wendy, with Brian’s two brothers, Greg and Jason, decided to turn Brian’s death into a driving force for serving the enforcement community. They opened a store where officers and emergency personnel are treated with the service and respect due their position and can get the best-quality items to stay safe. That store is Klinefelter’s Enforcement & Emergency Product Resource & Supply Inc., KEEPRS for short. It has seen sales triple in its three years of operation, and the customer base seems as dedicated to the store as the employees are to the customers. “We are seeing depart-ments who are close to our competitors driving an hour and a half to shop here for the customer service,” says store manager John Tragiai, who is also Wendy’s new husband. “Some of these departments are driving across the state of Minnesota, past our competition, to come here to us.” The store began selling basic uniform apparel and duty gear for police and sheriff’s offices in the St. Cloud area. It has since grown to include body armor, vehicle electronics and equipment, and K-9 necessities. In fact, some of the best-selling items are the new additions, to the point that KEEPRS is also gaining popularity with the utilities as a source for mounted vehicle computers. The store has grown from a simple idea four years ago to a complete catalog, online e-commerce and full-service outlet for almost all enforce-ment gear. “Brian’s brother Jason, who is now one of my partners, wanted to sell law enforcement products out of his home,” Wendy says. “I was looking for some guidance in my life. I was a stay-at-home mom – at that time, a single mom – and was finishing up my degree [in criminal justice].” Wendy approached Jason about starting a store, and they brought Greg in as the third partner. She credits Jason with seeing the need for the store. “A competitor that had been here had gone out of business for lots of reasons, but none of which were because there was no business. I wanted to stay connected with the people in law enforcement because I had become really attached to them after what had happened to my late husband.” Wendy had worked in retail since she was 15 years old. Though she never did specialized apparel, she knew how to keep a store running. Greg and Jason had the business experience. So for the first year and a half, Wendy ran the store’s day-to-day operations while Greg and Jason held their full-times jobs. That’s about when John entered the picture. Wendy met John on a blind date. Now the two are married, and John runs the store so Wendy can spend more time being a mom. John had been working in the police department for eight years, some of which was with the St. Cloud K-9 unit, and says he was ready for a change. Though Greg and Jason were reserve officers with the St. Cloud police department and John had just retired from it, none of them had experience in the uniform industry. “We learned about the uniform apparel business as we went along,” Wendy says. “None of us had experience other than wearing it,” she adds with a laugh. But from that start, KEEPRS has doubled in store size and is up to eight employees, including the three partners. The store is located in a strip mall. Starting out with a 2,000 square foot unit, they quickly snatched up the neighboring unit when it came up for sale, bringing the current store to 4,000 square feet. “We were bursting at the seams,” says John. Wendy adds, “We still are.” One of the things KEEPRS is considering is moving to a new, larger location sometime during the next four years. That quick growth is due to the addition of so many vendors. Though KEEPRS doesn’t make any of its own products, it serves as an outlet for many brand-name producers. “We started out with very few of the big players, as far as vendors go,” John says. “About two years ago, Wendy, Jason and Greg decided to purchase the business of a competitor a couple of hours away and, in doing so, acquired many more of the big names in law enforcement vendors.” Now the store carries thousands of items from a variety of producers. They keep the sales registers in the center of the store and surround customers with all the gear to fully outfit officers, vehicles and dogs. Upon entering the store, the entire right side is basic uniforms and the left side is all equipment. The large window at the front looks onto the giftware and K-9 sections, and footwear is also up front. Customers can run a counterclockwise loop of the store and leave fitted from head to toe. KEEPRS also boasts an entire gamut of services. From custom embroidery, specific “flaps and straps,” screen printing and alterations including stripes, KEEPRS does the work both in-house and through third parties. “There’s not much officers would want to do to their uniforms that we can’t help them with,” Wendy says. She explains the process they went through before even opening the doors of the store. They sent surveys to all the police departments in the area to assess the need for the store as well as what the potential customers wanted most. “The surveys came back saying that they were not treated the way they wanted to be treated,” Wendy says. “From day one, changing that has been our goal. Great service is in our vision statement and our mission statement, all our employees learn it, and it’s pounded in every day. We get letters and compliments all the time. Our annual customer surveys are coming back all positive now. And they e-mail us saying ‘Thank you.’ We are doing things our competitors aren’t doing, and that’s giving us the edge.” Those annual customer surveys Wendy mentioned are a key to keeping up with ever-changing needs and checking on their services. That feedback, along with the personal attention each customer receives, is the key feature for the company. And those in enforcement and emergency took notice of the approach. Wendy says, “The first two or three years was just word of mouth that our company grew. We were able to provide something that people sought us out for. Now our advertising is expanding past the Minnesota region.” KEEPRS still counts on positive word of mouth, but it has supplemented that advertising with direct-mail announcements, a semi-annual newsletter, a K-9 catalog and appearances at conventions and shows. The separate catalog just for K-9 units has gotten great reaction. For those who can’t get to the store itself, KEEPRS.com offers an online catalog of the best-selling products. Launched just six months ago, the e-commerce site has gotten many hits and the orders are starting to come in. Though there are thousands of items in the store, the online system currently has only about 200. “It is something that will grow into the future, but right now it’s in its infant stages,” Wendy says. Reaching a national audience will only help the one-front store in Minnesota expand even further. John praises the importance of the online presence and computerization in general. KEEPRS got a new computer software system two years ago. He encourages other companies not yet using the computer to its potential to update their system and reap the benefits, as KEEPRS has done. “Computerization is key!” John says. “We had basic software and it just couldn’t keep up. A good software program is a must. The reports we can get from our new software really help us guide where we want the company to go.” He says it has streamlined the inventory, pricing, customer databasing and general operations to be faster and more efficient. What also has helped give direction is a business plan. KEEPRS has an annual plan it actively seeks to fulfill as well as a long-term set of goals. “Having a plan is half the battle. It’s just a map to how to be successful,” John says. That map seems to be leading KEEPRS in the right direction. Tripled sales in three years. An e-commerce presence. Stellar customer service. It’s a legacy fitting of Officer Brian Klinefelter’s name. His duty belt and badge are kept on display at the store as a reminder of who KEEPRS is serving: the officers who deserve service for the service they provide to everyone. KEEPRS |
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| Above story first appeared in MADE TO MEASURE Magazine, Fall & Winter 2002 issue. All rights reserved. Photos appear by special permission. | |
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