the secret to capitol’s success.

In this economy, with so many shops closing shop, I often get asked…how is Capitol doing?  And then, how does she (Laura Vinroot Poole) do it?

Until today, I had no clue.  Yes, she has an impeccable eye and a great, pervasive sense of style and taste.  Yes, she is at the forefront of fashion here in Charlotte, and so does not have many competitors who carry the same designers (no coincidence, that).  Yes, she is lovely, as are the women who work for her.  Always gracious and welcoming, even to those of us who are just there to window shop or buy at the semi-annual 75% off sales.

But that can hardly carry someone in the high-end of retail through the kind of recession Charlotte has seen and is dealing with.  So, what is her secret?  You might have thought Capitol would be the first to fall in 2009, and yet, no.

Here’s what I learned listening to Laura talk about her business today to a small audience of young girls studying fashion design at Huntersville’s Style Sanctum.

1)  She has a vision, and she backs that vision with confidence and considered risk-taking.  She did not, for example, start out bankrolled by her father, as I had often heard in the snark-mill.  Laura explained that she started with nothing but the idea of bringing high fashion to her hometown.  Her goal?  To no longer see the city’s stylish head out of town to update their wardrobes each season.  Why New York and not Charlotte?  Bring the show to the hometown she loves.  She created a niche for herself, a true specialty shop.  And she has not wavered from that vision, no matter how counter-intuitive it might seem in today’s economy.

2) Laura has a head for business to go with her sense of style.  Faced with a rapidly and ever-shrinking pool of local customers in 2009, Laura decided the only way to survive was to swim in a bigger pond.  Atlanta, LA, Dallas, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Chicago.  Europe, even Dubai.  Keep true to the vision, true to her niche and to her specialty, just broaden her reach.

3)  This next point was revelatory to me.  When Laura goes to market, the designs she buys each have a customer in mind.  She goes to market essentially to style her clients.  And then she has a mental list of other clients each selection would work for.  She may buy a storeful of clothing, but there’s a real person guiding each buying choice.  Literally.  She thinks about her clients’ needs in the upcoming season…a daughter’s wedding, a gala chair, lots of business cocktails, whatever.

4)  Laura is ALL about her customers.  It’s personal for her.  She wants each to be the most beautiful, stylish person she can be.  In Laura’s words, she wants her clients to “own the room.”  She sounded almost like a proud mama when she said, with complete certainty, that a client was the most beautiful person in the room at a recent presentation to Buckingham Palace.  Laura wasn’t there; she just knew.

In retail, we all at least give lip-service to the idea that It’s All About The Customer.   I really got the sense today the Laura Vinroot Poole lives and breathes this creed far more than she lives and breathes style or fashion.  And it does seem like that’s the secret to her success.