Downtown Nanaimo Secrets of Success

 Quintessential

Carla Samson, the owner/operator of Quintessential located at 2 Commercial Street offers her customers a unique boutique in downtown Nanaimo, selling women’s fashions, including clothing, handbags, wallets, belts, shoes, jewellery and much more. Carla spoke with the DNBIA about running a successful shop in downtown Nanaimo.

DNBIA: Quintessential is synonymous with women’s fashion downtown – how long have you been here?
CARLA: We have been at our location downtown for seven and a half years.

DNBIA: What motivated you to start this business?
CARLA: I studied design and merchandising at Malaspina College. I am born and raised in Nanaimo and there were a lot of unique items that were not available here that I wanted to bring to the local community.

DNBIA: Can you give us a short description of your business?
CARLA:  We sell clothing and accessories for women of all ages. We focus on having a classic look with a trendy vibe that relates to everyday wear.

DNBIA: What are you best known for and why?
CARLA:  We are best known for carrying a wide range of unique clothing and accessories at a reasonable price. For example, Matt & Nat handbags are an all-vegan product that recycle twenty-one pop bottles in each purse or wallet they make. They are exclusive to Quintessential in Nanaimo.  People like to come to our store to find that perfect gift or outfit for special occasion.

DNBIA: What do you think sets your business aside from others in the field?
CARLA: We strive to provide outstanding customer service and get to know many of our customers on a personal basis. We carry unique items that are not available elsewhere in the area.  I go to six fashion markets per year, subscribe to dozens of fashion magazines and continuously keep my eye open for new trends. A lot of research is required to know your target market and some of my ideas come from travelling. Still to this day, one day per buying trip is set aside for research and to find out what is on trend. This gives me an opportunity to see brands I may not have seen at the shows I attended. Most importantly I like to see how merchandising is set up in other stores. This gives me new ideas and inspiration to bring fresh new looks back to Quintessential.
Unlike chain stores and large corporations that just keep moving the same inventory from location to location, we purchase our entire inventory. This means that I keep the merchandise and eventually I pass the bigger discounts on to my customers through a couple of yearly sales.  We have also given back to our community by donating unsold stock to charity rather than selling it to a company to liquidate.

DNBIA: How do you encourage people to shop downtown?
CARLA: If we don’t carry what the customer is looking for, we send them to other downtown businesses that carry different lines. We don’t consider these stores competition. We all have the same end goal and that is to provide our patrons with the total downtown shopping experience. If you can keep your customer shopping downtown all day, visiting and buying in all the local stores with personalized customer service and unique items, you know they are coming back.  For us customer service is number one. We won’t tell them something looks good on them if it doesn’t. We love that our customers get compliments from others, this makes us and our customers feel great!

DNBIA:  How many employees do you have?
CARLA: We have three full-time and two part-time employees.

DNBIA: What are your hours of operation?
CARLA: We are open Monday through Friday from 10:30 to 6:00 pm, Saturday 11:00 to 6:00 pm and Sunday from noon to 5:00 pm.

DNBIA: A lot of downtown businesses don’t stay open on Sunday, why do you?
CARLA: We started opening on Sundays two years ago and it’s been great.  Opening Sundays allows us to offer our customers service seven days a week, which we hear is greatly appreciated.

DNBIA: What keeps your customers coming back?
CARLA:  Our great customer service, friendly staff and all the unique items and apparel we offer that they can’t find anywhere else.Our main influx of customers are from Nanaimo and surrounding area, but we also get many customers who are tourists from around the world.

DNBIA: Is it hard to compete with the malls?
CARLA: No, we offer a wide variety of items that are not available at the mall. We pride ourselves on being a destination shop for people who are looking for something a little out of the ordinary.

DNBIA: What do you like most about having a business in downtown Nanaimo?
CARLA: I like the downtown atmosphere and diverse culture of it’s surroundings. There is a personal feel and a sense of community here.

DNBIA: What about your business makes you the most proud
CARLA: Providing excellent customer service and having the customer happy to come back time and time again.

DNBIA: What advice would you give to a new business starting out in downtown Nanaimo?
CARLA: Product knowledge and product research is number one. You need to know who your target market is and what they are looking for. It takes time to build a business it doesn’t happen overnight so make sure to give yourself adequate funds and time to build your business.

Finally, I think you need to understand it is about turnover. A successful business means being open minded about changes you may need to make over the course of the business.

Complete the following sentences:

“When a customer walks into our business they can expect… “a warm greeting, genuine customer service and a wide variety of classy, chic apparel and accessories to choose from”.

“What really makes us unique is…” offering a unique product they won’t find anywhere else”
.
“What makes us stand out is…” there is something for everyone at Quintessential.

Visit them on Facebook  or on their website Quintessential