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RETAILER PROFILE www.kitchenwarenews.com n FEBRUARY 2018 n KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW 13 Retailer Profile Small Store for Small Kitchens in The Big Apple BY MICAH CHEEK Home cooks are tr ying to do more in smaller living spaces. In Brooklyn, New York, a kitchenware store is doing more with less space as well. Tarzian West, a mainstay of the Park Slope neighborhood, has been open since 1977. Current owner Judy Kow is creating an upscale environment for a vibrant community. While the 1,200 square foot store is tiny, it is packed with products. Many online reviews of Tarzian West make note of how every surface is covered in a variety of items that the customers had never seen before. Kow is clear about the work space that Tarzian West has. "If you take a look at the store, it 's packed, and there's no room to do a demonstration," says Kow. "[It 's] a postage stamp!" The space is brimming with collections of items, all of which follow Tarzian West 's system for display. "We try to do good, better and best," says Lynette Payne, Store Manager. "When you have that, you can cater to a broad range of people." Staff are encouraged to interact directly with customers and explain the differences between the items at different price points. "In our experience, it 's always a good selling point," says Payne. "They also get a little education, too." Employees are also encouraged to step up to make sure the customer has what they really need. "When a customer is coming up to pay, we'll say, 'What are we cooking tonight?' They love when we ask them that," says Payne. "We want to know what you'll be buying the product for. Sometimes well have a better sell-through with that." Tarzian's team is always on the lookout for more efficient tools to fit smaller kitchens. "When we go to the shows and look at products, we're not getting the extra-large sizes of anything. The Breville mini smart ovens far outsell the regular size," says Kow. "We're very fond of things that do double or triple duty. Also, we sell a lot of storage items. People need to put things away and move things around— that's what happens in smaller spaces. In some ways, the challenge of maintaining a small kitchen is like maintaining a small store. "Small electrics take up a lot of space. A shipment of Cuisinart will take up a lot of space! Customers don't realize the margins are so low on electrics," says Kow. "If we didn't have to sell them, we wouldn't, but it's part of the cooking experience." With little space for storage, the process of cycling product through inventory needs to be tight. "We don't move the fixtures so much, but we do move products around," adds Kow. "The shelving in the f ront is full of holiday items and ceramics. As we sell through that we'll move newer things in…. As product comes in daily, we have to adjust things on the wall and on the shelves." The store has two gadget walls that bring in a lot of traffic all on their own. "We have such a range and assortment of so many different gadgets," says Payne. "A lot of customers are ver y shocked that something even existed." "A lot of customers just like to come in and stare at the wall," adds Kow. "A lot of people come in for one thing and they come out with five." But a store can't be all gadgets, and the mainstay products for Tarzian West have shifted toward the upscale along with the community. "It started off being a regular pots, pans and garbage cans store," says Kow. "We've gone a little more gourmet as the store evolved." "It 's been kind of a synergistic thing with the neighborhood," adds Kow. "They suggest it and we provide it." Cultivating that kind of community input has inspired more customer loyalty. " We try to have special things that are hard to find. We deal with lots of vendors; if it's something we can special order, we'll do it," says Kow. "Because we're a neighborhood store, they would prefer to ask us before they go to Amazon." Engaging so closely with customers means employees have to be knowledgeable and dedicated, and finding people who fit the bill is always difficult. "You know, retention is a big problem in retail," says Kow. "I was just telling Lynette earlier... we may not have as many people as we want, but we have good people." Cultivating the kind of staff mindset that keeps customers coming back has been a major focus for Kow. "Having an honest, hardworking and passionate team comes into play. Retail isn't easy," she says. "I remember years ago, as a manager was leaving, she said to the staff, 'I have just one word for you; just care.' Caring goes a long way. It reflects on you and it reflects on the store. When people go into any business, they can tell if the people there care or not; did they care about the service and about the products?" For 2018, Tarzian West is planning a digital overhaul. "Our customers ask us about the website, so I think that's going to be our focus," says Kow. "I wouldn't want people to sit at home and just buy something on the website. But for people who are just passing through and going home to California, it should be helpful." As the website's bridal service and recipes have gotten less use, these elements are going to move away in favor of a more robust catalog. But Tarzian isn't trying to trade foot traffic for digital traffic. "Do we want to be selfish and have our [website] be the best? Absolutely," adds Payne. "But we don't want to take people away f rom the store. " KN

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