How San Luis Obispo businesses are successfully competing against national chains

If there’s a bright spot in home and kitchenware retailer Williams-Sonoma moving in directly across Monterey Street from locally owned Forden’s hearth and home shop, it’s this: Better there than across town.

“It’s beneficial to us if people head there and see us — better than having them across town and drawing people there,” Forden’s manager Michael Hamilton said. “Our sign is there, showing we’re a longtime local shop. We hope people will make a choice and come in here first.”

Where the stores overlap on products, Forden’s believes they can be competitive on price, if not inventory, Hamilton said, with minimum pricing set by manufacturers on many items. But with the vast majority of Forden’s revenue coming from fireplaces, he said, the company isn’t worried about its future.

“Even if everyone stopped buying every kitchen item we had, it still would not put us out of business,” he said, noting the store is not planning any immediate changes in response to the national retailer moving in.

“We’ve got a lot of trust and goodwill,” he said, adding that locals have been coming in almost daily to voice their support for the store. “People know us and know we care. They know we know what we’re talking about.”

If anything, having businesses open on that block of Monterey Street again will be beneficial, he said: “It’s been vacant buildings for a long time, and we saw a real drop in foot traffic.”

To help local firms compete with national retailers, local business owners offer this advice:

▪  Offer something unique. “I try not to carry brands anyone else local has,” said Natalie Risner, who owns the women’s apparel store Apropos with her mother. “I look for the unique and different and funky.” She also emphasizes quality over the “fast fashion” sold at many chains, with 75 percent of her brands made in the U.S. and about 50 percent in California.

▪  Play to your strengths. “We can’t compete on price, but we can dial in those things that set us apart, like repair and custom design,” said The Gold Concept’s Aaron Gomez, who runs the jewelry business started by his father with his brother. “We’re much more agile, so we can respond to trends faster.”

▪  Provide added value. Women’s clothing store Ambiance holds retail parties where customers and their friends can see and try on the newest fashions in their own home. EcoBambino, which sells natural children’s products, has held sessions on breastfeeding, diapering and other parenting topics as well as hosted events such as a kids music hour.

▪  Create a pleasant shopping experience. Listen to your customers and help them find what they really need in a low-pressure environment, Risner advised. “We’re not going to shove something down their throat or ask how they’re doing every five minutes.” Use texture, touch and music to create an engaging environment, added Pierre Rademaker of Pierre Rademaker Design. “Successful retail has to find a way to provide an experience you can’t get anywhere else, that you can’t buy online,” he said.

▪  Don’t forget the personal touch. “You’re never going to have someone fit shoes to you like you will at, say, Mountain Air,” said SLO Downtown Association Executive Director Dominic Tartaglia. “You’re never going to get that custom touch at chains.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2016 at 7:02 PM with the headline "How San Luis Obispo businesses are successfully competing against national chains."