Lessons on Retailing: Demory’s Christmas Memories

[tweetmeme]Demory’s Christmas Memories is a 10-year old retail store selling Christmas items in Hagertown, Maryland. They don’t have a strong Web presence, but their 3,000 sq. ft. store is one of the best of its kind in the Mid-Atlantic area.

In an interview with Selling Christmas Decorations magazine, owner Steve Demory gave this advice that is useful to those running a small retail business:

At first we bought what we liked, and then we realized that we were missing a large segment of our potential customers. We started to listen to people more and make notes of what products they asked us for that we didn’t have. We bought more of what people were looking for and our business improved. However, we don’t go for gimmick items that saturate the market and then sit on shelves.

UPDATE (4/26):

Because of a bridge closure on their road from August – December 12, 2008, Demory’s Christmas Memories is now for sale. The bridge closure has dramatically reduced the number of cars passing their road until the detour. With fewer cars, their sales also plummeted.

The business has fought the county on getting a temporary bridge put in. The state actually approved it but the County Commisioners voted it down. Given the difficulty in securing financing, the owners have decided to sell their well establised Christmas store.