FUN AND FUNKY
Christin Weilbacher has worked in retail ever since she was old enough to earn a paycheck. From her first job at a Gap Kids as a sophomore in high school to starting a hip children’s clothing boutique with her mother and sister seven years ago, her success has been driven by a passion for creating a unique shopping experience for boys and girls in Baton Rouge. In 2010, Weilbacher and her sister Terryn Mann decided to put their extensive retail experience to work for themselves by opening B Kids in Baton Rouge. They found their niche offering cool and contemporary—yet conservative—styles for children, from newborns and toddlers all the way up to tweens and juniors. “There was really no ‘cool’ kids clothes in town,” Weilbacher says. “It was all very traditional in south Louisiana, so we saw an opportunity to be different.”
TREND SETTING
With the slogan “b. cool, b. different, b. you,” B Kids aims to build confidence and spark creativity in its customers. “We stick to that mantra everywhere we go,” Weilbacher says. “We want kids to come in and explore their own style and be confident in doing so.” Collecting clothing and accessories from places like New York City and Las Vegas, the sisters have had to learn the pace at which the hottest trends reach south Louisiana. “It takes two years for fashion forward things to trickle down,” Weilbacher says. “I can’t bring something too fashion forward right away. You have to get to know your customers and bring it down to their level.” As Weilbacher has found in stocking her stores, kids fashion follows adult fashion. Much like adults, most boys and girls have to see a new style modeled in their circle of influence before they’re ready to try it on their own.
STAYING COOL
From Driving her kids’ carpool to caring for her customers, Weilbacher says the most difficult part of being a business owner is juggling the responsibilities of both manager and mom. The retail industry also presents its own daily challenges like determining new strategies for customer relations and service. “It is constant little battles trying to decide how you are going to reach out to them next,” Weilbacher explains. “What you can offer that’s different, what can you offer to schools around town or charity associations that can build your business, but also help you stay in front of clients and make it a place they want to come back.” With a degree in public relations from LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication, Weilbacher relies heavily on social media and print advertising to promote B Kids. “I believe it is a great way to showcase different aspects of your store,” she says.
BRANCHING OUT
What really makes B Kids tick is family. Now owned by all three Weilbacher sisters—with the youngest, Lynda Hornsby, joining the business in 2014 after graduating college—they’ve managed to grow B Kids to four locations. Weilbacher began 2017 in a brand new space, moving B Kids’ flagship Baton Rouge store to Towne Center. “It is somewhere you kind of always aspire to be but don’t really know if you can handle it at first so it was a big step for us,” Weilbacher says. Similarly, Mann and Hornsby consolidated two New Orleans B Kids locations into one central space on Magazine Street. And in 2016, B Kids saw the opening of franchise locations in Birmingham, Alabama, and Fort Worth, Texas. “It was a scary experience, but we were confident that we could make something like B Kids happen anywhere,” Weilbacher says. As for future locations, Weilbacher says they are keeping an open mind for B Kids.Read more at: http://www.marieaustralia.com/bridesmaid-dresses
مشاهده پست مشابه : تاریخ تاسیس وبلاگ نیوزدی
Yohei Ohno
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