FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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| COMMON THREADS |
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IT LOOKS FOR all the world as if Joe Fulmer is in the business of
selling sewing machines. Walk into his 25,OOO-square-foot sewing
superstore, Stitching Post, and you'll see a fine inventory of elite
Husqvarna Viking machines, a kaleidoscopic array of fabric bolts, and
enough notions and accessories to launch Martha Stewart into ecstasy.
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People
used to sew their own clothes to save money; the downtown sewing store
was a mainstay of most communities. Then clothing prices dropped, the
big chains began carrying sewing paraphernalia, and the mom- and-pops
slowly failed. To survive, Fulmer knew he had to woo a new breed of
customer-affluent
needed more of them, and he needed to keep
them coming back. Women who
sew because it's relaxing and creative. The Stitching Post had always
attracted brand-conscious customers who were so dedicated to their craft
that they would spend several thousand dollars on a sewing machine.
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machines is not Fulmer's real stock-in-trade. He has created a
stitcher's oasis-a place where people with a common passion come to
socialize, to learn, to advise- and by the way, to buy. That's how
Fulmer grew his father's modest shop into a thriving $11-million company
with 115 employees and nearly double-digit profitability-by building a
community of customers.
"When I bought the business from my dad, in
1986, it was a 2,000-square- foot store with three |
employees and
$200,000 in revenue," recalls Fulmer. Back
then, the business was profitable but static, and the ambitious son knew
that he needed to transform it into the kind of company that would
sustain his interest and keep him rooted in the city he loved. "I've
been to almost all 50 states, but Dayton is a great little town; " he
says. "The people are nice, it's easy to get around, and I can get from
my house to downtown in 12 minutes. "Success in Fulmer's industry can be
elusive. |
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What inspires attachment is Fulmer's promise: buy a sewing machine from
him and get free lifetime instruction machines-and then entices them to
upgrade to more expensive models. He'll apply the full cost of a machine
purchased within a year toward a better model. He'll also refund the
cost of re- pairing a machine to any customer who decides within 90 days
to buy a new one. Moreover, he's been tenacious about marketing and has
in- creased his advertising budget, spent largely on local newspapers,
by 20% every year. It costs him, he says, about $80 a head to lure new
customers into the store.
All those activities translated into
steady revenue growth, and by the mid 1990s, Fulmer moved his operation
t9 a larger location. He also opened Stitching Post outposts within
eight Jo- Ann Fabrics & Crafts stores in the Day- ton and Columbus
areas. Jo-Ann's takes an 8% commission on sales at its stores, and
Fulmer expands his reach with minimal investment. |
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TIGHTLY WOVEN COMMUNITY:
Joe Fulmer (far left) deliberately transformed the
store into the kind of place where customers socialize with one another |
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| Last August he
opened an even bigger and better Stitching Post, a store he says is a
direct reflection of his customers' desire for bigger aisles, better
lighting, bigger classrooms, and a wider variety of merchandise. He now
offers 60 different classes that he hopes will drive demand for high-end
machines and their pricey attachments. (There are $18,000 worth of
options for the top-of-the-line, $5,499 machine.) Last year revenues
increased to $11 million, up from $8 million in 1999. |
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BIGGER IS BETTER:
Customers asked for more space,
better lighting, and more merchandise. Bottom: A quilting student at
work. |
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His education program is perhaps the most
remarkable of his loyalty-building activities. |
| He began to
turn the Stitching Post into the kind of place where customers would
drop in again and again, making friends with one another-and with his
salespeople. He expanded the modest instruction program his father had
started into an extreme version of "education for life." He holds a
minimum of eight coffee klatches each month. about how to use it. In
that way, he teaches the customers to outgrow their ("They don't do any
sewing," he says, "but when they're here, |
they buy.") And
he sponsors in-store charitable events, during which customers sew caps
for cancer patients and sleeping bags for homeless children.
His education program is perhaps the most
remarkable of his loyalty- building activities. Sure, one can learn
basic sewing or the most advanced tailoring here, and everything in
between. Fulmer sold 8,000 sewing machines in 2000, making him the
largest |
Husqvarna
Viking dealer in the world. The machines, accessories, and software
account for the lion's share of the company's profits; almost everything
else he sells is either marginally profitable or sold at a loss. But
that's part of Fulmer's plan, too. Every item sold and every service
offered is designed to maintain the community he has created---0ne that
has helped him fulfill his dream of turning his dad's business into a
true growth company and of staying close to home. -D.F. |
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Inc. Magazine, Common
Threads, August 2001
For More Information Contact:
The Stitching Post
101 E. Alex bell rd. Dayton Ohio 45429
Tel: 937-436-9200
FAX: 937-213-2330
Internet:
info@stitchingpost.com
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