FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Sewing Superstore Calling
Consumers To Stop In, Relax, And Stay A while |
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by Amelia
Johanson for |
| Superstores have a
tendency to be grossly oversized warehouses with jam- packed
aisles jutting out in all directions. Somebody forgot to tell that
to Joe Fulmer, whose new Stitching Post Superstore is a modern
sewer's sanctuary.
Easy glide, automatic doors open
into a European retailing atmosphere neatened by Grecian columns,
a marble-floored entryway, and warm maple fixtures. The Husqvarna
Viking dealership -unofficially the largest sewing machine store
in the world -was conceptualized, designed, and implemented by
Fulmer, twice named Husqvarna Viking international dealer of the
year. |
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Joe Fulmer (right) and
Bengt Gerborg, president of Viking Sewing Machines, Inc. |
| He's loyal to
the Husqvarna Viking brand; the store's red and blue color scheme,
including custom designed carpet, wasn't chosen by accident -it's very
much reflective of the Husqvarna Viking brand image and overall global
mission: "Keeping the World Sewing."
With this new sewing "haven," Fulmer
seems to be undertaking this mission single-handedly. His father,
Darrell Fulmer, opened the original Stitching Post in Dayton, OH, in
1958. He passed the reins to his son 25 years later, and in his first
year as owner, the junior Fulmer sold l00 sewing machines.
Ten years later he moved his growing
business to a larger Dayton location and in the '90s opened eight
additional outposts inside Jo Ann Fabric and Craft Stores in the
Columbus, Springfield, and Dayton, OH, areas. Last July, he unveiled his
first superstore at Cross Pointe Centre in Dayton and garnered sales in
excess of 8,000 sewing machines in a single year.
With the advent of computerized sewing
machines in the early '80s, Fulmer was able to ride the wave of
technology that has turned home sewing into a $3 billion
dollar
industry. He's a self-proclaimed techno-junkie who's fascinated with the
latest space-age gadgets --and not just sewing machines. For instance,
at the Stitching
Post checkout counters, the cashier makes a computer
image of a written check and hands the paper copy back to the customer.
In the classroom, walls and floors are acoustically balanced to soften
the hum of umpteen machines running in unison. Advanced lighting
throughout the store is near perfect for fabric coloration and matching
thread to fabric. |
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"We look at
the Stitching Post as an excellent concept store, as a destination
in itself where Joe has focused on education and an environment in which to relax and enjoy
what sewing has to offer" -Stan Ingraham, senior vice president of
sales and marketing, Viking Sewing Machines, Inc. |
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Interior of new sewing
superstore in Dayton, OH. |
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"Technology, particularly computers, have built the sewing machine
industry," Fulmer said. "It's taught people obsolescence. Twenty years
ago, someone who bought a machine expected to have it forever. Today,
they know it's computerized and that the technology is going to be
outmoded in six months."
"Being in business for 26 years, you hear what
customers like, but you also hear what they don't like," said Fulmer.
"We send surveys out to everyone who makes a major superstore in Dayton,
OH. purchase, and in my opinion, the most important question we ask is,
'If you could implement one change, what would it be?' I don't think you
can ask a customer enough times what more you can do for them."
While ruminating plans for his
superstore, Fulmer tallied years of customer suggestions in order to
realize what he calls "a sewer's dream." It's a place where people who
love to machine sew -not to craft or to knit or to cross-stitch -can
gather to have their creative and technical needs met. |
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The store
flows logically in the round. The raised sewing machine center
occupies the middle of the 25,000 square foot space with no less
than eight TV monitors overhead running informational videos.
Various departments -notions, classrooms, designer and quilting
fabrics, machine repair, patterns, computer lab and sewing cabinets
-are positioned around the perimeter.
Fulmer goes the extra mile. He
doesn't just hang machine feet out for sale; he
displays a
clear description of usage with each foot and continuously runs a
how-to video in that department. He stitches out and displays new
embroidery designs so customers don't have to guess what they might
look like from a catalog or packaging.
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Donna and
William Kells, Joes mother & step-father: |
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| He devised a
waiting area complete with two TV s, toys for the kids, and comfy
leather chair and ottoman to let family members kick back while the
sewing enthusiast shops in peace. Every department is visible from the
entryway and clearly marked overhead -no walking back and forth from one
end of the store to the other in search of a particular aisle or item.
While this much open space would have
most retailers shaking in their boots - forget revenue per square foot
-it makes for a user-friendly environment that is indicative of the new
direction in retailing and in-home sewing. |
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It seems Fulmer has
taken his lead from national chains catering to an environment that
says, "Come in and stay awhile."
"We look at the
Stitching Post as an excellent concept store, as a destination in
itself where Joe has focused on education and an environment in
which to relax and enjoy what sewing has to offer," said Stan
Ingraham, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Viking
Sewing Machines, Inc. "I liken it to a Borders or a Barnes & Noble
Bookstore that draws you in and keeps you for hours. |
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Stan Ingraham
(left) senior vice president of sales for Viking Sewing Machines,
Inc. and Bengt Gerborg, president of Viking Sewing Machines, Inc. |
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| "And that's
exactly what Fulmer intended. The Stitching Post Superstore is a home
away from home for his customers -a place where nothing else matters
except for sewing. And, that is Fulmer's dream -sewing and sewing and
sewing. |
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Sewing
Professional /Round Bobbin January 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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