And you thought starting the Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving Day was early. Target is staging its first Back in Black Friday Sale – this Friday, July 23. Leave it to Target to beat the crowd. The sale is online only and will include electronics, toys, home goods and more, mostly at 30 to 60 percent off. Looks like there will be camcorders and at least one big screen TV, but the preview list also includes a three-pack of Zhu-Zhu pets for $18.99 and 83 percent off the “Ally McBeal” series on DVD, which is cause to wonder if this sale is just an attempt to generate buzz for garden variety summer clearance.
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Sales are not Galleria’s style. The posh Edina, Minn. center doesn’t technically forbid discount racks, but garish sale signs are frowned upon. “It’s just not our customers’ favorite thing,” said Jill Noack, vice president and general manager of Galleria. “They don’t want to buy a dress and see it on sale the next week.” The center may be charmed (it consistently boasts an occupancy rate higher than just about any competitor in town and is home to Minnesota’s only Tiffany & Co. and Louis Vuitton stores), but that doesn’t mean everything sells at full price. So shops have gotten in the habit of outsourcing. Len Druskin has created a whole new business with its Len Druskin Outlet stores; others team up for off-site liquidation sales or sell to outlet retailers. Well, if you can’t beat the sales, Noack figured the center should try to stage its own – Galleria style. For the first time ever Thursday, July 15 to Saturday, July 17, Galleria will host the Galleria Clearance Experience with food sampling, product demos and, of course, lots and lots of discounts – as much as 80 percent off at some stores. Around 40 retailers are participating. If it’s a hit – and hard to believe it wouldn’t be – Noack says she could imagine doing this type of major blow-out twice a year. No more. And what happens to the sale merchandise that hasn’t sold by the end of the three-day “experience?” Noack hopes it will disappear – to charities, outlets – anywhere but her center. We’ll see.
On Friday, July 16, Nordstrom will introduce new fall merchandise at discounted prices. After August 1, the prices go up. The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is a sale for planners who can think ahead to leather boots and wool suits when outside it’s 90 and humid. It is a sale designed to make shoppers feel special – like they’re getting a deal before anyone else. But getting that opportunity with everyone else isn’t enough – the department store lets some customers pre-shop the sale. Ask and most sales associates will say the pre-shopping opportunity – which means avoiding crowds, getting first pick and having your selections shipped to your home at no cost – is open to Nordstrom card holders. But I know some credit card holders who don’t get invited. And I know at least one person who doesn’t have a Nordstrom card, or an unlimited budget, and still, she gets invited to pre-shop every year. So what’s the real story? Ask. Nicely. The pre-shopping is open through Wednesday, July 14, I was told when I called the children’s shoe department today. At first, the salesperson told me I’d need a Nordstrom card to shop ahead. When I pressed, and mentioned my friend, she said I could come in make my picks from the new sale merch. Sales associates are out to establish relationships, and helping shoppers buy early and feel excited about it is the perfect way to create those ties. Meanwhile, If you’re content to preview the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale online – including beauty exclusives, click here.
While I appreciate that it’s tough for boutiques to compete on price, small retailers have to realize that it takes but a few clicks on a keyboard for shoppers to compare. I didn’t go looking for a better deal on Out of Print Clothing’s cool book cover t-shirts; I simply wanted to know more about the brand after spotting it at the new Steele Fitness boutique on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. Steele is selling the tees for $56. Online, they’re $29. Not only will I not be buying one at the store, the whopping $27 discrepancy makes me weary of their prices in general. And that’s a steep price for a boutique to pay.
Addendum: I appreciate a retailer that listens, and responds – which is exactly what Steele Fitness did within hours of this post. Mistakes happen. Be sure to read “comments” for the company’s reaction.
How do rumors get started? Well, this one seems to have been fueled by the gorgeous new Anthropologie store at Shops at West End in St. Louis Park. Since it opened, shoppers – and even other retailers – have been asking me if Anthropologie will close at 50th & France. I was dismissive at first – the 50th store, I’ve been told, is one of the retailer’s most successful – you can tell just by the wait for a fitting room on a Saturday afternoon. The opening of West End was about capturing more shoppers in a hungry market. But the question about 50th hasn’t gone away, so I asked the company: Are you closing your Edina store? The answer is a definitive NO. This comes straight from an Anthropologie spokeswoman who told me “We are not closing in Edina. You can be assured that it is a rumor!”And that’s that.
Bogus Creek courtyard
I’ve been to Red Wing; visited an apple orchard on Lake Pepin. But I hadn’t spent time in Stockholm, Wis. until assigned to write a story about shopping and eating there (look for it in the August issue of Spaces magazine). Long overshadowed by larger river towns, Stockholm is a charming alternative. The stores – many with an art/home/gourmet bent – are far more sophisticated than one would expect for a town of 97. “Downtown” is literally two blocks that cross, but with stores like Abode and The Palate, garden restaurants like Bogus Creek Cafe & Bakery and The Stockholm Pie Company, plus quirky antique shops, little galleries, street musicians and a riverfront park, there’s plenty to warrant a day trip, or even a weekend.
The owner of two popular Galleria home decor stores, ATAZ and Three Rooms has decided to combine the two. “After 50 years in retail, I was ready to retire,” retailer Patty Burrets said in a statement Wednesday. “But
then the idea of uniting both stores re-ignited the passion that
motivated me years ago. So I’ve landed on a phrase I’ve come to enjoy –
‘semi-retirement’.” Say goodbye to Three Rooms as you know it – the store will close at 5 p.m. Friday, April 23 for remodeling and will reopen in its current location on May 20. ATAZ will remain open through May 28. In the newly worked space, Burrets plans to focus more on local artists while continuing to spotlight the contemporary design that has always distinguished the store.
Ivy is closing after five years in Uptown. Owner Ini Iyamba, who hosted a denim event just last weekend, said simply, "It's the perfect time to say goodbye." All merchandise is now 50 percent off. Sounds like talks for an Ivy store at Shops at West End are off.
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