A handful of home furnishing boutique owners across the Valley are rallying together to insulate themselves from the recession.
What started as a loose network of friends within the same industry is developing into a formal group recently named Arizona Home Boutiques. The group is launching a Web site aimed at bringing together niche boutique home furnishing retailers across the Valley.
“It’s really so far been about information sharing,” said Debbie Frank, owner of
Members include Frank; Rebecca Masterson of
Frank and Smith met last year as they worked on an industry event in
The philosophy behind the group is to create a supportive network of those within the independent home furnishings and decor business. The gatherings so far have taken place at a local restaurant and via phone conversations, with customer referrals, specific item queries and industry trends among the common topics of conversation.
“This is about grassroots marketing and networking. The best way to generate business is through word of mouth or a referral, and if I can get an item from one of my colleagues for my customer, that’s important. My customer is happy, and I am keeping the dollars in the local community,” Smith said.
Frank said the group is open, but will screen its members to ensure the businesses complement one another and that members aren’t too close to one another geographically. To qualify, a business must have a retail storefront and be independently owned.
“This is really about networking with people who really understand the challenges and where you are. … We want to be able to leverage ourselves, because we aren’t these big retailers,” she said.
Get Connected
Arizona Home Boutiques: www.azhomeboutiques.com
