There is a small but growing number of retailers out there that can truly claim to be multi-channel. That means they have retail stores, a catalog operation and an electronic-commerce business.
Eddie Bauer is one. So is Banana Republic. So is J.C. Penney Co. But few have achieved the kind of balance–or fast growth–that Coldwater Creek has.
The company, based in Sandpoint, Idaho, got its start in 1984 as a catalog of comfortable, casual women’s apparel and jewelry. It jumped into the e-commerce fray in July 1999, and it now generates more than 24 percent of its revenue from Internet sales. But Coldwater Creek is now aggressively building a third leg–retail stores–and it’s using its other two operations to choose the sites.
In fact, Coldwater Creek opened its first Illinois store Oct. 16 at the new Deer Park Town Center in Palatine because it knew it had 250,000 Internet and catalog customers in the greater Chicago area–a higher concentration than anywhere else in the country.
The Palatine store, the company’s eighth, features soft woods, natural stone, a 12-foot waterfall and a cozy fireplace, all intended to conjure up a vision of the rustic North Country where Coldwater Creek got its start.
It’s also designed to be a relaxing, tranquil environment for Coldwater Creek’s target customer: stressed-out professional women 35-55 who put in long hours at work before going home to care for their families. The problem may be making them go home when the store closes.
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Playful generosity: Everyone must know by now that Sony PlayStation2 is the hot electronic toy for the holidays. It’s so hot that enterprising college students have stood in long lines for the chance to buy one of the video game systems so they could scalp it on eBay. Hey, that next tuition bill is right around the corner.
But Montgomery Ward & Co. is taking a higher road. The struggling Chicago-based retailer has donated 170 PlayStations to the Children’s Miracle Network, a Salt Lake City-based non-profit group that raises money for 170 children’s hospitals throughout North America, including Children’s Memorial in Chicago.
Mick Shannon, president of Children’s Miracle Network, calls the donation “gracious,” adding, “As hot as the new Playstation2 seems to be, it’s possible kids will rather be in the hospital playing than at home this holiday season.”
We wouldn’t go that far, but donating so many PlayStations does seem generous, particularly given Wards’ urgent need to rack up big sales increases this holiday season. Being on Santa’s list of “nice” retailers can’t hurt.
Promises, promises: Internet retailers know they have a lot to make up for after last year’s major breakdown in service and delivery. Many have spent the last year upgrading systems and training their customer service people.
They’re ready this year, the e-tailers swear. Some are making promises about service that would be difficult for even established retailers to meet.
Ashford.com, a pure-play e-tailer of luxury goods and gift items, is putting its reputation on the line with a guarantee of next-day delivery.
Beginning Nov. 1 and running through Dec. 31, orders placed before 5 p.m. Central Standard Time for in-stock items with price tags of more than $100 will be delivered free the next day. If the delivery is late for any reason, Ashford.com will send the customer a gift of 25 roses from Martha Stewart’s Internet flower retailer, marthasflowers.com.
Ashford says the guarantee is not as risky as it sounds. Last year, the e-tailer took holiday orders through Dec. 23 and delivered many of them on Christmas Eve.
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