Another set of hangers is soon to join downtown Auburn in the upcoming months.
As Dress Up prepares to become the third newly opened downtown boutique this fall, store managers and owners reflect on what the new stores — and an increasing number of stores — means for business and competition. Dress Up's opening will make it the 10th boutique specializing in women’s fashion in the downtown area, according to the city, with Charming Oaks and Entourage Clothing & Gifts opening just months ago.
“I feel like it is [more difficult to stay competitive], but then my only hope can be that more people want to come downtown and shop because there are more places to visit,” said Kelly Poole, co-owner of Ellie Clothing on South College Street.
Ellie Clothing, which also owns Ellis Girl and NK Boho Boutique, all of which are downtown, has been a part of the city's center for about 13 years.
When she was in college, Poole could only remember two boutiques located in downtown Auburn, and she and co-owner Natalie Gilbert opened Ellie with the vision of offering affordable fashion.
That characteristic, she said, along with good customer service, set her shops apart, though she said she doesn’t peruse her competitors’ shops often.
The downtown scene gives the boutique an advantage in selling game day colors, having a large influx of traffic and attracting students, Poole added.
However, it’s too soon to say if the new boutiques added this fall present any additional challenges because football season is the busiest time for the store, Poole said.
Other boutique managers, including Erin Malone, manager of The Pink Room, agreed.
Because of the home games, she hasn’t seen a difference in business at the South College Street boutique so far, though she said the store's established customer base plays a role too. It has been in Auburn since 2011.
However, the “J months” — January, June and July — are the most challenging, prompting action.
“What we do is we try to put on events and things that help with those months just to bring in customers,” Malone said, adding that the store also turns to holidays, sorority events and flash sales.
She acknowledged there will be more competition now, but said she feels comfortable with the store’s established audience. The Pink Room caters to women in the 18-25 age range and also strives to offer affordable clothing for the college students.
“Before the two new boutiques, we were, I would say, one of the most affordable boutiques downtown, and we always tried to think outside of the box and do different kinds of events that other boutiques haven’t done,” she said of how the store stayed competitive in the past.
Miriam Lane, manager of Therapy Boutique on East Magnolia Avenue, is looking forward to the addition of Dress Up across the street.
“I think it’s going to bring us more business,” she said. “I think that if those stores do attract more people down here, they’re going to stay down here and shop the other stores while they’re here too. So I definitely don’t think it’s going to hurt us; I think it’s going to help.”
She said her store, which opened in 2008, differs from the others that have been around longer — mainly in target audience.
“We carry quality pieces. We carry trendy pieces,” Lane said. “We try to reach not just college age. We try to reach our locals also.”
The clothing selection reflects the range of ages the store caters to, she added.
“We carry a lot of different price ranges too,” she said. “We don’t carry just $42 and under. We kind of carry … $30 to $120.”
Entourage Clothing and Gifts, which had its grand opening Sept. 1, does advertise as a $42 and under shop, something store manager Kim Buttke said will keep the store competitive.
The store’s broad selection of orange and blue apparel and staying on “the cutting edge” with trends that can appeal to different ages also contributes to the store’s competitiveness, she said.
She regularly visits other stores to learn about her competitors as well. But being in a site with a high concentration of competitors in close proximity is a situation other Entourage locations don’t have to face, she said.
“As far as having that many [boutiques] downtown, it does present a challenge, but you have to stand out,” Buttke said.
The store will have to strategize what it will do to stay active in the off-season, though that’s yet to be decided since the store is new, she said. However, the company does stay involved in sorority events.
For Malone, the boutique scene downtown makes up for the peripheral mall presence. And she, too, sees an upside to the increased competition.
“It keeps people on their toes. … I think it’s the best way to keep yourself on the top of your game when it comes to trends and things like that,” she said. “It can only help almost.”
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