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By Susan Derby Retail stores have had to be innovative to keep themselves competitive and convenient. First, the catalog came along, allowing people to order just what they wanted without leaving home. Then, the Internet came along, and many stores are offering their products online for instant billing and shipment. Sure, catalogs and the Internet reduce both the time and hassle needed to shop, but both methods have two major flaws: they don’t come with any special services, and there are still returns and exchanges for wrong sizes, colors or styles. A few companies are taking their business to the streets, literally. They are loading up trailers and mobile units and heading out to the customer instead of calling the customers into the store, Web site or catalog. Star Uniform Inc. is one such retailer. The company started in 1995 and has been using a trailer for additional sales for a few years. “We have a 4,000-plus square foot retail store,” says Joe Talkington, owner and president of Star Uniforms. “Then we have this great 24-foot trailer that we sell out of. We take it on the road one to three times a month or so. We load up the trailer with over 1,000 to 1,500 garments from the store and go to hospitals and nursing homes and such within about an hour’s drive of Bloomington-Normal [Ill.]. We sell for about six hours, then we roll the stuff on the rolling racks back into the trailer and put them back in the store.” Star Uniforms focuses mostly on medical apparel – including hospitals, doctor’s offices, veterinarians, dentists and nursing homes – but also deals in some blue goods and giftware. Talkington says there are plenty of hospitals in the area that don’t have apparel stores nearby. Star sets up shop at the hospital, and employees come out during breaks or lunch to buy what they need. Frank Bee also uses a mobile unit to generate business. While Frank Bee does mostly school uniforms in the New York City area, it also deals in uniforming for airports, maintenance crews, factories, hospitals and industrial facilities. Its 39-foot truck goes out much more frequently that Star’s. “Depending on the time of year, we’re out everyday. And sometimes it’s more than one account per day,” says Frank Bee President Craig Baker. “In April, May and June, we go out and take orders for uniforms for the following school year. We also measure for graduation caps and gowns. Before and during the opening of the school year, we are very active with the schools. Then, after the holidays, the students need warmer clothes, so we go back out with long-sleeved shirts and sweaters.” Both companies send two to five employees along with the mobile unit. They set up dates with the schools, hospitals and companies they want to visit and send them flyers and posters to hang up within the building. In some cases, they may send mailings out to individual people, but mostly they let the hosting company do the advertising legwork. “We have almost everything that they would need. Of course, there are limitations with some sizes,” Baker says of his truck, which is really a renovated mobile classroom. “On our truck, we have an embroidery machine so we can customize and do the logos or the school monograms right onto the garments. And we also do printing for gym uniforms and other items right there.” Those added services are just as important in the satellite stores as in stationary ones. Customers want to walk away with their purchases instead of spending money and walking away empty-handed. With mobile stores, customers can feel the hand of the clothes and try different sizes and items vs. catalog or online ordering. “Service and convenience is what the customers like about it,” says Baker. “Especially with clothing, people like to see sizes. They don’t want to come and place an order, and then possibly have to send it back to get the wrong size again.” Talkington agrees with that. He says the customers wait for the day of the trailer sales because they don’t even have to get in a car and drive somewhere else. He says, “We want to sell right there. We prefer not to do special orders, but if we don’t have a certain size in a particular pattern, then we’ll order it. We’ll do special orders for anybody anytime. Our selection is really wide. We have extra-small to 6X in lots of colors.” He also gave a few tips for making the mobile units really work. “The real secret is payroll deduct. We do that with seven different hospitals and nursing homes right now. Our objective is to get 20 to 30. We go onsite and they shop, and it comes out of their paychecks for one, two or three pay periods. They tend to buy more when we do that.” He continues, “We have fun here. It’s always something new. We’ll serve pizza at lunch. We’ll give out peanuts and cookies. We’ll do anything JCPenny won’t do; that’s our standing joke here. We even have sidewalk and trailer sales right at the store.” Talkington says the mobile store also can be a lure to the real thing. “We have a selection of our stuff, but of course we can’t fit it all. Our hidden objective is to get the people into our brand new store,” he says referring to the new addition to the only 2-year-old store. Baker not only sells from the vehicle, he sells the vehicles themselves. When he went to buy one, the owner mentioned he didn’t have many ideas for how to sell them. Baker ended up buying 138 trailers and sells them for $35,000 each. He has only 40 left. “They were used by the Board of Education. I’ve sold them to the American Red Cross, police departments; I sold one to an optometrist.” That eye doctor was working out of his established mall storefront when a chain store came in. He then worked out of his van, travelling to prisons, factories and institutions and taking orders. He would fill those orders back at his office and return a few days later with filled prescriptions. Now he does vision tests in the mobile unit and can make glasses on the spot. Baker also has sold them to libraries for bookmobiles and a chef for preparing some food on the way to banquets. “I can’t say I’ve see it all,” says Baker, “but I’ve seen a lot of different uses for them.” Star Uniforms Frank Bee Uniform Cap and Gown |
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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. | |
| Halper Publishing Company 633 Skokie Blvd, #490 Northbrook, IL 60062 (847) 780-2900 Fax (224) 406-8850 [email protected] |
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Home Fall & Winter 2002 Location Location Location: A few retailers found the perfect location… and they...
