- November 23, 2024
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Emily’s Gift Shop celebrated a one-year anniversary.
It was a real learning experience for the mother and daughter team that owns Emily’s Gift Shop in the Granada Plaza. They had never run a retail business before, but always wanted to.
After plunging in a year ago, they recently celebrated their anniversary just as Granada Plaza completed its façade renovation. They learned a lot along the way, and said business was better than expected.
“We had a lot of support from the community,” said June Gemmer, the mother. She said they have already developed a regular customer base of not only locals, but also tourists shopping for a gift to take a gift back home.
Before starting their business in the plaza, they did a lot of research, Gemmer said. When they visited Granada Plaza, they always saw a lot of foot traffic.
“We saw people walking over from the beach, going to the ice cream shop,” Gemmer said.
“It was busier than any other location.”
Gemmer retired after 25 years at an electronics company and daughter Juli Enache was a school teacher. They are originally from Texas.
Their first surprise was when they opened last August, and their vendors asked them to start ordering items for Christmas. Now, they have a better idea on when to prepare for the holidays.
“It’s weird to order Christmas items in May,” Enache said.
They said they guessed at how much to order and found managing an inventory a challenge.
They also learned that they need gifts for tourists who arrive by airplane, as well as those who arrive by car. Many visitors to the beachside hotels arrive by plane and are looking for items they can pack in a suitcase.
They saved money by decorating the shop themselves, including painting the walls yellow and the floor purple.
“We wanted it to be fresh and bright,” Enache said.
They also decided that having a painted floor, rather than carpet, was more practical since an ice cream store is next door. Customers with snacks are welcome to browse around.
They furnished the shop with cabinets they found at flea markets and then painted them.
“People come in and say, ‘I love that cabinet,’” Enache said.
Their idea is to have a shop where everyone can find a gift, from a $2 key chain to a $50 platter, Gemmer said. Their “whole focus” is to offer gifts that can’t be found in department and “big box” stores, she said.
Another feature of their shop is that every purchase is gift bagged.
Their next goal is to start selling online, but they decided they should learn how to order inventory for their current store, before venturing into an online business.
The fun part of the business is the people they meet, they both agreed.
“I chatted with someone from Australia for an hour,” Enache said. “He said he’s going to send a ‘care package’ from there. I can’t wait to see what’s in it.”
Gemmer agreed.
“You meet so many people. It’s a melting pot. Every day, you’re going to have someone make you laugh,” she said.
