LI network makes rival shop owners friends

Trusted business advice is hard to come by, but much to gift shop owner Kerry Punzi's surprise, she has found a wealth of it from an unlikely source: potential competitors.

"I didn't even realize that other retailers would want to talk to me," said Punzi, owner of Giftology and The Cook's Fancy, both in Rockville Centre.

About a year and a half ago, a group of gift shop owners and managers came together to brainstorm about the effects of Vera Bradley -- one of their most popular brands -- opening its own retail stores and launching an online retail site.

About eight people, including Punzi, attended that meeting and another one a year later. Ideas were exchanged. But the true benefit for several participants was a trusted network of retail merchants that evolved.

Some now look to each other for advice on displays as well as on which merchandise sells well. They help each other out, sometimes selling merchandise to one another at cost or referring customers to one another for specific items.

Because their stores are in different towns, "we believe that we're not in competition," said Marilyn Schulman, who owns Bay Shore store Willy Nilly Trading Co.. "We're really competing with other venues, whether it be big boxes or department stores, whatever it is, so let's help each other."

Style evokes incubators
Networking and helping out another small retailer by selling merchandise at cost is not unusual, but this group appears to have taken it to a different level, said Lucille Wesnofske, regional director of the Small Business Development Center at Farmingdale State College.

"I'm surprised, and I'm not surprised," Wesnofske said, likening the group's networking methods to the way business incubators are supposed to function, with entrepreneurs meeting and discussing what works best.

While Vera Bradley's collection of bags continues to be a big seller for these small businesses, the brand's corporate stores in Garden City's Roosevelt Field mall and Lake Grove's Smith Haven Mall, as well as its online store and discounting practices, often place the shops in the difficult position of competing with it.

"We're little stores, and we don't have another 20,000 feet on another floor to compete with that," said Pat Turner, owner of Roomors in Babylon. "Every line is precious, so when the people who create the brand compete with you, it's really hard, especially when they discount."

Vera Bradley, however, believes that opportunities to expand in the New York metro area exist in all its retail channels -- that includes its corporate stores, independent retail partners and its online store, the company said.

"Research shows that our fans shop in multiple channels," said Melissa Schenkel, Vera Bradley spokeswoman. "We have found that customers who shop in multiple channels spend more than those buying from a single retail outlet, as they encounter the Vera Bradley brand more often."

A bond among buyers
While each of the gift shops has its distinct look and feel and clientele with their own specific tastes, the shops have lines that overlap.

"I would rather send somebody to another store than have them go find something online," Turner said. "The benefit to me is I've extended a courtesy to a customer, and I want to foster shopping in small stores."

They call each other and trade information, like which marketing techniques work for them, or which line of jewelry has proved popular.

"I could say this looks nice, but without knowing how it did, it could bomb," Schulman said.

Sharing merchandise tips also can help expose customers to a brand, Punzi said.

"The more a name is recognized, then people want it," she said, "and if people see it in different stores and it moves, you want to be in on it."

When Punzi opened her second store, Giftology, she invited Schulman and Schulman's business partner, Lynn Brey, both of whom offered helpful critiques, she said.

"They came in and said, 'I would take this out and move this back, and you know what you could do? Knock this wall down,' " Punzi said. "Getting another retailer's vision really helps."

Often, simply talking about their businesses provides a touchstone for how they are faring. "It has given us a bond, and I think that's so important for co-retailers to have, like a little union," said Ruth Koroghlian, owner of Cow Harbor Fine Gifts in Northport. "The benefit of that bond is being very open with opinions."