Jila LaBelle dress and accessories shop was online only for about a year when owner Jila Jihanguiri decided to open a physical location near the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue and Oakton Street in Niles.
“A lot of people like to try on dresses before they buy them,” she said. “And they should. This space has been vacant for a while. I decided to buy it and give it a go.”
Three days after the store opened for business, Jihanguiri said the decision was starting to pay off. Even though she hadn’t done any marketing, she was already getting more foot traffic than she was expecting. Jihanguiri hopes that the traffic will get even better once she starts advertising
Jihanguiri, a Park Ridge resident for over 20 years, decided to start Jila LaBelle for a simple reason – no other store had what she was looking for.
“I was visiting Europe, and I came across a lot of dresses and accessories that I liked,” said Jihanguiri. “But when I came back [to th eUnited States], nobody was selling them. So I decided to start importing them.”
She decided to focus her shop on dresses, jewelry and accessories from Turkey and various European countries. Jihanguiri imported some of them directly, while others were purchased from wholesellers. She also bought some items at trade shows.
Jihanguiri said she selects her inventory based largely on what strikes her interest. She also tries to make sure the store’s selections are affordable and unique.
“One thing I don’t like is going to a wedding and see five people wearing the same dress,” said Jihanguiri. “Buying from a boutique eliminates that.”
Once she decided to open Jila LaBelle’s physical location, Jihanguiri considered opening in Park Ridge. But ultimately, she decided to open in a vacant space at 8032 N Milwaukee Ave., because it was a good location that didn’t have any dress shops.
“I feel like Milwaukee Avenue gets a lot of traffic,” said Jihanguiri. “I [also] wanted to be in a place where we’re unique.”
Actually getting the store up and running took about seven months. She had to gut the interiors and start over, she said. Jihanguiri mentioned that she bought the interior furnishing from a Niles store further up Milwaukee Avenue.
“I like to support local businesses,” she said.
The store opened for business on Monday, Dec 15. She didn’t get her business license until Dec. 11, and she didn’t want to advertise Jila LaBelle until she had it. So she was very surprised to get decent foot traffic right from the get-go.
“I’ve had a lot of people coming in and looking inside,” said Jihanguiri. “Everybody asks for cards, to give to their friends. To tell you the truth, I had customers that returned twice.”
Dresses and accessories are still Jila LaBelle’s bread and butter, but its inventory has expanded to include coats, raincoats, jeans, jump suits and scarves. To Jihanguiri’s surprise, ponchos are a big seller since the store opened.
“I sold 10 ponchos in the last three days,” she said.
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Accessories are also a big hit. Jihanguiri hopes that a physical location will result in more dress sales.
For now, her biggest priority is making sure the customers are happy, she said.
“I hope to see a lot of customers happy,” said Jihanguiri. “I want them to be happy with what they get. I don’t want to sell them something that won’t look good [on them].”
While she does plan to let her employees to handle the day-to-day tasks in the store, she said she will be fairly hands on in the next few weeks.
“I want to make sure everything goes smoothly,” said Jihanguiri.