HAMBURG — Prom season is right around the corner and Monroe’s Place on Lake Street in Hamburg is already stocked and ready for girls in search of their dream dress.
“We have the best selection in Western New York,” said owner Monroe, who has turned shopping for a prom dress at her store into a holistic experience.
When they first arrive, girls can gather in a room where there used to be a cafe, which Monroe now uses as a waiting area for prom dress shoppers. The girls are brought into the prom dress area one group at a time, in order to give them the personalized shopping experience Monroe said she has perfected, at her location.
When a girl comes to Monroe’s looking for a dress, she can peruse racks full of plastic bag-protected sample dresses which are then ordered in her size and preferred color. After the purchase is made, Monroe enters her name and choice into the prom book, which is organized by school. Monroe’s also offers off-the-rack purchases, which are sold at a discounted price.
“[With the book] you won’t have two girls coming into the same dance in the same dress. Not from my store,” Monroe said. “If the dress you’re in love with is locked out, maybe we can get it in a different color. But once you’re in the book, that dress is yours.”
That process is what sets Monroe apart from the department stores, she said. As for the difference between her store and her competitors, the owner said it is all about the experience.
“We fully engage in prom,” Monroe said. “Prom season is like Christmas for me. When girls come in, we treat them well and we try to be a little honest with them. Other places, with every dress it’s ‘that’s fabulous, you look fabulous’ but here, if it’s not your cut, not your color, we’ll say, ‘Maybe you want to try this instead.’ We want everyone to leave happy and look their absolute best.”
On average, a teen will try on 20 dresses twice each before making a choice, the owner said. In order to accommodate girls making the big decision, she has several dressing areas, as well as a “party room” that can take groups. Each girl is accompanied by either Monroe herself or one of her staff, to help them screen their options.
For non-prom shoppers, Monroe has a teen-free area for women seeking dresses for weddings or other occasions.
“Some people are allergic to teens,” Monroe explained. “I have a ‘Mother of the Bride’ room where the girls aren’t allowed. That’s their sanctuary.”
Monroe’s sees prom-goers from as far away as Niagara Falls and Toronto come through its doors, as well as Hamburg, Frontier and West Seneca schools, West Seneca West has been the store’s biggest customers, and she said that Hamburg lags behind, but she has seen some of that changing, this year.
As a small business, all profits from Monroe’s sales go right back into the community, she noted. Buying at her store also ensures consistency, since Internet sites can scam customers, and often do.
“What a lot of them are doing now, is they’re taking a picture of one of these dresses,” Monroe explained, demonstrating a bejeweled gown in cherry red, “And they ship you a cheap Chinese knockoff. A good dress costs money. It’s dangerous,” she concluded. “There might be time to fix it, if it’s a few weeks before prom. But if not? You’ve lost that money you thought you were saving.”
In addition to the scam potential, Monroe said shoppers have to realize the impact buying local has on the community.
“You want your roads fixed? That’s your tax dollars. If you’re not shopping, you’re not helping local people pay those taxes, you’re sending your sales tax somewhere else. When retail goes to China, it could be wiping out the local economy. It’s not like the Internet is evil; I buy lots of things online, but my store, as a micro small business, is the core of our [community’s] financial structure. If people don’t come in and shop, what do they think is going to happen to their streets, their neighbors?”
Andra inlägg
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