In this economy, with so many shops closing shop, I often get asked…how is Capitol doing? Â And then, how does she (Laura Vinroot Poole) do it?
Until today, I had no clue. Â Yes, she has an impeccable eye and a great, pervasive sense of style and taste. Â 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). Â Yes, she is lovely, as are the women who work for her. Â 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. Â So, what is her secret? Â 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) Â She has a vision, and she backs that vision with confidence and considered risk-taking. Â She did not, for example, start out bankrolled by her father, as I had often heard in the snark-mill. Â Laura explained that she started with nothing but the idea of bringing high fashion to her hometown. Â Her goal? Â To no longer see the city’s stylish head out of town to update their wardrobes each season. Â Why New York and not Charlotte? Â Bring the show to the hometown she loves. Â She created a niche for herself, a true specialty shop. Â 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. Â 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. Â Atlanta, LA, Dallas, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Chicago. Â Europe, even Dubai. Â Keep true to the vision, true to her niche and to her specialty, just broaden her reach.
3) Â This next point was revelatory to me. Â When Laura goes to market, the designs she buys each have a customer in mind. Â She goes to market essentially to style her clients. Â And then she has a mental list of other clients each selection would work for. Â She may buy a storeful of clothing, but there’s a real person guiding each buying choice. Â Literally. Â She thinks about her clients’ needs in the upcoming season…a daughter’s wedding, a gala chair, lots of business cocktails, whatever.
4) Â Laura is ALL about her customers. Â It’s personal for her. Â She wants each to be the most beautiful, stylish person she can be. Â In Laura’s words, she wants her clients to “own the room.” Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â And it does seem like that’s the secret to her success.