Finding Out What’s in Store

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Lauren Lilly and Jody Rollins, who co-founded Yellow 108, set up a little manufacturing operation a couple of years ago in a residential area along Third Street in Long Beach. They make hats and other accessories from recycled and salvaged materials, and they sell them to Whole Foods Markets and eco-boutiques across the country and in Japan.

“We always planned to have a retail store,” Lilly said. “But because we didn’t have a ton of foot traffic, and we didn’t have a budget to have someone work full time in a store, we had to wait until our business grew.”

But last year, they found out that a coffee shop named Lord Windsor Roasters was applying for permits to open next door.

That got them thinking. With an influx of foot traffic on the sleepy street, the duo decided to transform what then served as their showroom into a retail space. They wouldn’t have to lease more space. They wouldn’t even have to hire employees to staff the store because they could handle retail operation themselves.

When Lilly and Rollins contacted the coffee shop owner, Wade Windsor, the three realized the businesses would attract the same kinds of customers.

At Lord Windsor Roasters, baristas encourage customers to stay and drink coffee from ceramic mugs rather than waste paper on to-go cups.

“What they do is organic and fair-trade as well, so we have similar concepts,” Lilly said.

She said it took the coffee shop about six months to get its permits. Lord Windsor opened last month and Yellow 108 opened its boutique at the same time. So far, both businesses have benefited from the synergy.

Observers say such a move is a good example of how to capitalize on a changed situation.

“They can grow their business on the backs of this coffee shop,” said Frances Harder, founder of Los Angeles non-profit Fashion Business Inc.

What’s more, the retail operation may help the rest of the business, said Herb Sorenson, scientific adviser on retail and shopper practice for market research company TNS North America in Portland, Ore.

“They might be surprised at the things they can learn about their customers by running a retail store themselves,” Sorenson said.

For now, the Yellow 108 women are happy that it’s working out.

“It’s really great for us,” Lilly said. “We feel like we have a team on this corner. It’s just these two units and we really help each other out.”

– Bethany Firnhaber

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