Made Sense At The Time

There are things I buy for Herschede that I am absolutely convinced will sell.

And then they don’t.

Or at least, they haven’t yet.

There are other things I buy because I love them, while fully expecting they may take some time. Maybe they are a little unfamiliar. Maybe people need to see them, touch them, try them on and live with the idea for a minute.

Those, naturally, sometimes fly off the racks.

I’m learning that this is retail.

One of the things I have come to enjoy most is trying to understand why people respond to certain things and not others. There is plenty of data telling me what sold. The more interesting question is why.

Sometimes the answer is straightforward. Price matters. Fit matters. Color matters. Timing matters. But sometimes the reasons are less obvious.

Fabric has been an interesting lesson.

In Phoenix, weight matters. But I’ve learned that perceived weight can matter just as much as actual weight. A fabric can technically be lightweight and completely appropriate for our climate. If it looks heavy or feels substantial in someone’s hand, none of that may matter. They may have already decided.

I didn’t know that when I opened the doors. There are probably a hundred things like that I still don’t know.

That is part of what makes this interesting. I’m learning what people gravitate toward, what they walk past, what they pick up and put back, and what suddenly makes them say, “I need this.”

But my job isn’t simply to learn what sells and buy more of it.

Sometimes I buy something because I think people need a little time to get there. Taste isn’t static. Mine certainly isn’t. Exposure changes it. Curiosity changes it. Seeing something you wouldn’t normally choose and discovering how it makes you feel can change it.

So there has to be some tension between listening to the customer and trusting my own eye.

The customer teaches me constantly. I hope, occasionally, I return the favor.

I could probably make fewer mistakes by studying what has already worked and staying closer to it. This color sells. That fabric sells. That silhouette sells. Buy more of it.

And I learn from all of that.

But if I only bought more of what I already knew would sell, I might get better at retail and worse at Herschede.

I’m not willing to make that trade.

So there will always be things here that are a little unexpected. Things I’m convinced you’ll love. Things I’m curious whether you will. Things I may be completely wrong about.

And every once in a while, something I thought I was going to have to convince you to love disappears before I even get the chance.

Which is probably why I’ll never completely figure this out.

I hope I don’t.

-E