Episode 6: Main Street Magic: How Peer Connections Fuel Andrisen Morton's Success with Lindsay Morton Gaiser
In this podcast episode of Main Street Matters, host Terresa Zimmerman interviews Lindsay Morton Gaiser, the president and second-generation owner of Andrisen Morton in Denver, Colorado. Lindsay shares insights into the history of the luxury men's clothing store, founded by her father and his business partner, Craig Andrisen, in 1979. She discusses the evolution of the business, including a brief foray into women's clothing and the shift towards more sportswear over tailored clothing.
Lindsay highlights the importance of the store's customer base, which includes multi-generational clients and a wide range of occupations. She emphasizes the significance of the vendor community and the store's dedicated staff, who contribute to the unique experience offered by Andrisen Morton.
Keypoints in this episode:
-The history and evolution of Andrisen Morton
-The importance of customer loyalty and multi-generational clientele
-Strategies for adapting to changing customer needs and trends
-Utilizing technology, such as survey tools and CRM systems
-The significance of peer learning and industry relationships
-Planning for future growth and succession, owner and staff, in the business
Featured in this episode:
Andrisen Morton
Website
LinkedIn
Instagram
Connect with Lindsay Morton
LinkedIn
CRM Tool that Andrisen Morton is using:
One Shop app - is the all-in-one client engagement & loyalty platform for local store teams to engage their customers personally to turn first time shoppers into life long fans.
Connect with them on LinkedIn
Books mentioned in this episode: (support your independent bookstore at www.indiebound.org)
The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy
Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect
Connect with Us:
Main Street Matters Podcast:
Website: www.mainstreetmatters.co
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/main-street-matters
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@MainStreetMatters_MSM
Host - Terresa Zimmerman:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/terresachristensonzimmerman
Listen to the episode here:
Watch the episode here:
Featured Store:
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Lindsay Morton:
We're not really in the clothing business. We're in the hospitality business. And we want people to be able to come in and not feel like they have to shop.
Terresa Zimmerman:
What you and your family have built to go on for the next generation and the next and the next. You've systematized learning in order to run the business. That's amazing.
Lindsay Morton:
Very special. And is something that if anyone in any industry wants to have, it's probably one of it's the top five most important things that we have in our business.
Terresa Zimmerman:
This episode of Main Street Matters is brought to you by Wood Underwear, Marquesi Jin Frati Neckwear, and Inspiro Tequila. I'm your host, Terresa Zimmerman. Welcome to Main Street Matters. Today, I've got Lindsey Morton Geiser, president and second generation owner of Andrisen Morton in Denver, Colorado. Welcome, Lindsey. Thank you for being on.
Lindsay Morton:
Thank you so much. I'm honored to be here. Thank you for including me.
Terresa Zimmerman:
I told you I was super, super excited to have you on. You're my first female guest. So that's something. That is awesome. We're going to get some badass women on here. That's an honor. So we'll dive right in. Just can you start by just telling us a little bit about Andrisen Morton? Sure.
Lindsay Morton:
We are a men's clothing store, high end luxury men's clothing store in Cherry Creek North in Denver, Colorado. And we've been around for 45 years now. The company was founded the year I was born, so not that I'm giving away my age. And my father and his business partner founded the company in 1979. And we have always been luxury. We've always had menswear. We had a moment in time where we did some women's, we had a women's store as well. And we've had just a rich family history of just being in the retail world and selling clothing and expensive clothes to people in Denver and all across the country really.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Cool, so is your dad still involved?
Lindsay Morton:
He is, he is here pretty much every morning and he's in sort of an advisory role now and he sits down with us every month and looks at our financials and Yes, it's great to have him. I can call him for anything and he will still be wrapping presents in the month of December. That is his favorite thing to do. You got to keep him busy. Yeah, exactly. And he loves it. So that's that's his job.
Terresa Zimmerman:
And how did he decide to start the store? How did he and his business partner decide to do this? Were they I mean, is that further back in your family history?
Lindsay Morton:
Well, so Craig Andrisen and then Craig. So the Andrisen and the Morton Andrisen, Craig Andrisen and Dave Morton. They actually were young. Craig's, I think, three years older than my dad. And they were young, working in retail at a store in Boulder. And they sort of decided, to heck with this, we're going to go and do our own thing. And they got some help from Craig's then father-in-law, financial help. And they went in and they resigned from the store. And they thought maybe they'd have another two weeks. And the guy said, See ya. You're done. Go figure it out. If you're going to go start another store, you got to get out of here. And kind of the rest is history. They started out in downtown Denver, which used to be just a wonderful place for businesses like any of our downtowns. Things have changed now, but they started down there and were there for many years. And then we relocated in 96, 96.
Terresa Zimmerman:
So they are to your current location. You've been in your current location since 96.
Lindsay Morton:
So that's great. So they are, um, they're legends. They're the ones that have given us this great legacy to carry on. And, um, you know, we just hope that we do a good job for them every single day. So they're, they're the, they're the foundation and the way, the reason that we're all here now.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Tell us about your customer. Who's your customer today? And then I want to know about, you know, how did that customer change over the years? Cause I'm sure your dad and his, and Craig Andrisen didn't start out in, you know, full luxury at the top of the.
Lindsay Morton:
Yeah. I mean, it's funny because they actually, they actually always stood for luxury, but luxury looked a lot different back then. Um, you know, reptiles were he'll kill me, but I think they were like $59 and You know, suits were, you know, two and $300. In fact, I wish I had some of that. We have like old ads and archives from when they started, which is really fun to look at just because of all the price tags on everything. But our customer is, you know, we have a very, very loyal customer. We have a multi-generational customer. We have, you know, dads and grandfathers and sons and grandchildren that come here. Now, I would say the, you know, kind of age of our customer is very, very wide. We have, you know, younger young men that come in that shop, you know, certain kind of opening price points. And then also we have every, you know, people who are retired that still want to come in and buy sportswear. And kind of everything in between, Denver has grown significantly over the years. And so we've gotten a lot of wonderful new clients that have come in that are young and just really like the experience here. So it's exciting and we have all different occupations. You know, we've got financial guys, real estate guys, attorneys, doctors. you name it there they come in and uh yeah so our customer is is very special to us they're what makes our store who we are today so
Terresa Zimmerman:
Yeah, that's that's that's great. And I hear that. I mean, that's the benefit of independent retail, right? You get it's relationship driven and relationship based. And that's what I love about it. So so so your customer base is it has have you noticed a change or could you talk about a change over? It's decades.
Lindsay Morton:
So, yeah, I mean, I think, you know, if you're talking about the customer, you know, they themselves haven't haven't really changed, but their needs and wants have changed. Okay. So I would say, you know, back when the company was founded, it was very tailored clothing. Um, it was all suits, mostly suits and some sport coats and people working downtown, people having their careers downtown, um, and downtown where we're law offices, you know, financial offices, real estate, anything. that was downtown and you know it was walkable very much like New York and a much much smaller scale. So that's sort of what people wanted then and as time has evolved and I think some of the biggest changes have been kind of during COVID and just sort of like once we came out of COVID where the demand was and how we had to pivot into certain categories that we hadn't had before. When I joined the business I our tailored clothing business was 75% of our business.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Wow. Okay. How long ago was that? That was 2007.
Lindsay Morton:
Okay. It is now 40% tailored clothing and 60% sportswear. And it goes, you know, it kind of goes 50, 50 sometimes too, but it's interesting to kind of watch how it's, it's really changed and kind of what people wear and what customers want.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Yeah. How much do you feel like you're driving what your customers' tastes are doing because you're seeing other parts of the United States and what other stores are doing and how much are they coming to you? Does that happen?
Lindsay Morton:
Well, yes, it does. We try really hard to stay very, very relevant. and provide kind of the newest, latest, greatest, particularly in Italian men's fashion. It's something that we pride ourselves on. I mean, really our store is about 90% Italian vendors. And so we try really hard to curate lines and bring lines in that are, you know, have a story behind them, are, you know, much like you, you know, just that story, the people behind it, you know, that's what people love. um and so that's that's something that we try really really hard to do and hopefully we hope that's always our hope is it sets us apart.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Yeah yeah well and who can fault the Italians right? Right. I mean right yeah they just do everything better. It it makes me the Italian section is what makes me happy to go to trade shows mostly.
Lindsay Morton:
Yeah I mean it's amazing what they do and um you know I had never been to Italy before and I went now we're going to Milan to buy for the store and just it was so inspiring so I'm sure you as a designer and a you know somebody who has their own line like it's got to be extremely inspiring for you.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Oh, yeah, well, I mean, and just personally, they're just so fun to be around. So, yeah, absolutely. So do you do you normally buy from the Italians at the in the US or because you said you're now going to Milan? Is this your first trip to Milan to buy direct? I do both.
Lindsay Morton:
I do. So Milan is, you know, our big collections, Zegna, Cucinelli, Canale, Chiton, Isaias. So those are, um, our big collections that we have in the store. So those are the ones that we really go there to buy, but then we buy, um, other sportswear lines there too, that do very well for us.
Terresa Zimmerman:
It sounds like the Italian part of what you do is really what makes something makes Andrisen Morton special. But if you looked more broadly beyond that, if you had to decide, like what makes Andrisen Morton, Andrisen Morton, what, what would your, I mean, what would your customer say? Maybe you've asked them already. I don't know.
Lindsay Morton:
We have, we sent out a survey a while, like about a year ago, we sent out a survey and people, you know, our customers love our people. They can get Cuccinelli anywhere. Yeah. And it's right. But, you know, I mean, they can go on their phone and shop canolli and they can get whatever they want. But one of the most rewarding things for us, particularly in this last survey that we sent out, is just the love for coming in, our culture, and our people. And that makes me so, so proud. Because we have special people who love what they do and love our customers and love clothes and It's just, it's fun to watch, really fun.
Terresa Zimmerman:
And have they been with you a long time? I mean, are you, you have a pretty steady staff?
Lindsay Morton:
Yes, we have tailors who knew me when I was a newborn that are still here. We have sellers on our floor that have been here for 20 plus years. Yes, we have, we're so, so fortunate, so fortunate.
Terresa Zimmerman:
And how about bringing new staff in? How does that work for you?
Lindsay Morton:
We just hired a wonderful woman that came from the restaurant industry. And she's been such a fun addition to our floor because, you know, she's a woman in a man's world, but she's wonderful. She's just fits right in. And we love hiring people from the hospitality industry because we believe here, as I'm sure many others do, that we're not really in the clothing business, we're in the hospitality business. and we want people to be able to come in and not feel like they have to shop. Grab a cappuccino, go walk around. We have a brand new Cucinelli shop in the store. There's big couches and places to sit and go and go back there and enjoy. Don't, you don't feel like you need to shop here. We're very, our culture is very, very laid back and it will always be that way because life is too short to be snooty about anything.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Agreed. And being able to be in a relaxed environment and take a breath or two has got to do wonders for sales for you too. It does. Rather than rushing somebody through.
Lindsay Morton:
We have customers that come in that they come in every Saturday and you know they bring their dog and we want that. We want more of that.
Terresa Zimmerman:
That's what we want. Just to say hey and what's going on and maybe I'll you know buy a suit. And if not, that's okay. You know where we live. That's great. That's great. Okay, so let's get into tools. You talked about surveys, you do a regular survey with customers?
Lindsay Morton:
We do one about once a year. And it's always kind of has an incentive behind it. You know, if you fill out the survey, you get 15% off your purchase, things like that. So we do do that. It's been incredibly insightful for us. you know vendors that were missing, things that we could do better on the phone, alcohol that you would like for us to serve in the store, on and on and on. It's fun to you know and and there's things that we would we know that we can do better and there's call outs and we go okay okay well this is we have to address this and it's insightful for sure it makes us better
Terresa Zimmerman:
So are you using, what kind of survey tool are you using? Do you have like a CRM, a database, or is this email-based?
Lindsay Morton:
That's a very good question. I actually don't think I can answer it intelligently because our marketing coordinator does it. I could find out, but I do not have an intelligent answer behind that.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Okay, no worries. I was just curious because I know a lot of stores have their, if they have email addresses, they keep them in their email address book and aren't necessarily, you know, using more of a full, um, CRM kind of system.
Lindsay Morton:
So I didn't know if you guys were, you know, on board with something like that or we use, um, so we use in our, you know, point of sale system and backend and reporting system, we have CRM there. So that survey goes out to everybody that we have an email for. Cool. Um, and then, you know, whoever decides to answer it, we used to mail them out, but you know, mail is not a thing anymore.
Terresa Zimmerman:
So I don't know. I'm a big believer in snail mail. I like, I like getting a letter. We're like, nobody's going to send it back.
Lindsay Morton:
And all you have to do is hit submit. And when we used to mail them out, we used to mail them out too.
Terresa Zimmerman:
So yeah. Yeah. Well, so you've done them for a long time then.
Lindsay Morton:
We have, and it's been pretty inconsistent, but we're going to try to do them yearly now so that we can just adjust and hear people out and you know know what we need to do to be in business for 40 more years.
Terresa Zimmerman:
I want to be a little data geek fly on the wall when you do your analysis year over year because uh you've got to have if you've been doing them you've got to have some fascinating data.
Lindsay Morton:
Well I don't know and she can help you with that.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Okay she might outsource her data analysis to me. Yeah yeah come on let's do it together it'd be fun. Oh my gosh. Well, so what other kind of technology do you, um, do you guys rely on to either, you know, run your business or communicate with customers?
Lindsay Morton:
We use, um, an app, we use a app called one shop. Um, and it was founded by a young man named Nick McHenry. Um, and he is wonderful, but basically everything that you have in your point of sale system, you have on your phone and you can go through and, you know, if you're working with, Dave Smith, you can type him in, pull up his history, look and see what he's bought, email him from the app. You can actually like, if somebody, if we're having a Cuccinelli trunk show, I keep using Cuccinelli, but let's use Xenia. If we're using, if we're having a Xenia trunk show, you can filter through, you know, every customer that's bought Xenia from you over the last five years, and you can blast it out from the app. You know, we're having a Xenia trunk show. We look forward to seeing you on and on. So that tool has been tremendously helpful. There's like tailor shop, alteration, follow up, lots of different things that we can do to just stay in front of our customers and make sure that our follow up is really, really good. Yeah, because if, if you drop the ball on any kind of follow up, you basically lose your customer.
Terresa Zimmerman:
So yeah, we do that. Can we give him a little plug and maybe put his link in the notes?
Lindsay Morton:
I'd love to do that. Wonderful. It's a wonderful app. Their service is wonderful. And it's just been tremendous for us. Cool. Yes. Yes.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Yeah. Love to hear these new treasures of operations. um because technology has a lot of promises but until you start to execute it you don't really know what's going to work for you this sounds like it's phenomenal it is for sure cool so how about what does a great season look like for you or a great day we can we can look at a great day that is a great question um you want to do day or season your call whatever um
Lindsay Morton:
let's do season but specifically what do you do you want to talk about merchandise and what sells do you want to talk about people do you what yes all of it yes um well last fall we had we actually had a phenomenal season last fall and we we've had we've just been so blessed we've had um just a great year so far but um we had just a crazy record uh december And it was all just this leading up to December. But, you know, just starting out the season, September one is kind of go time, like right after Labor Day, all the new fall is in, the weather's kind of changing here in Colorado. And it's my personal favorite season is fall. So You know, I love all the merchandise that's coming in. I love all the fabrications and the heavier weight of clothing and the sweaters and just the luxurious cashmere and everything that we have coming in the store. So it's all locked and loaded. And we just have crazy Saturdays. You know, our Saturdays make up about 36% of our business. So, you know, Saturdays are game days for us. So, you know, phenomenal Saturdays, all season long, great trunk shows, great made-to-measure shows with our vendors, you know, in-store events that we love. In fact, this season we're having a really fun event with, we are home of the National Western Stock Show in Denver. And so we're having a fun event with cowboy hat making and boots and a couple of our other vendors that we do business with. But anyway, there's just fun events, energy, people just coming into the store, hustling and bustling and just teamwork on an all time high. I mean, clearly I love it because it's just like that's the best piece of it all is just nobody eats lunch. but not because we're not making time. No time. Um, and just, you know, you're tired at the end of the day, don't want to talk to anybody. And if that just happens all season long, we're all so happy because it's just the best. It's the best. Um, and you know, you can make people happy even if they don't buy anything to come in the store and just enjoy just being with other people, community.
Terresa Zimmerman:
So that happened last year. What do you attribute that to? Was that I mean, was it your the way you bought? Was it the did you bring in different brands? Did you merchandise differently? I mean, it sounds like trunk shows were a big part of it.
Lindsay Morton:
If you're going to do this again, made to measure was a huge part of it that really that really kind of rocket launched the business because we had wonderful made to measure shows. But we also just, everybody blocked and tackled. We made sure that we knew that everybody was in it together. And if there were shirts to be folded, we needed to fold the shirts. And if there were, we just knew what needed to happen. And it's been interesting because as times have changed in retail and sort of since my dad and Craig's era, you know, we've changed the culture a lot. And I think changing our culture here in the store has helped really propel the business because it's not just this like, you know, how might I help you kind of store anymore? It's like, what can I do for you? How are you doing today? And we do that with each other as a team, which helps a lot. So I do think that's a lot of it. I think it was a lot of great teamwork made to measure was great. We had, you know, pretty good buys and people just wanted to come in and, and spend money here. And we're so, so, so blessed.
Terresa Zimmerman:
That that's actually a really big, um, pivot to go from the, how can I help you service mindset to the, you know, what do you think about this? How can I get you that collaboration with your customer mindset? That's a big deal.
Lindsay Morton:
Yes. And we, you know, we're, we're commissioned sales floor. And so we've had to take some of our kind of metrics that we, that we measure with, with our team and say, okay, rather than you getting an extra half a point of commission, we're going to take the entire team. And we're going to watch you all year long on your teamwork. And that's how we're going to compensate you. It's part of it. So it's become a really important piece of our business and our culture.
Terresa Zimmerman:
How do you get everybody on board with that? Was there a pushback? For sure.
Lindsay Morton:
I mean, culture is a very, very hardship to turn around, particularly when you have people who have been here for, you know, 10, 15, 20, 25 years. I will tell you that the one thing that we did do that was really fun is we started a book club and we read, the first book we read was The Energy Bus by John Gordon and everybody read it and the overarching concept is if you're not on the bus going in the right direction then you probably shouldn't, you should probably get off. Wow, okay, there you go. And it's a really fun book, it's kind of cheesy, but I think it's, I would highly recommend it for anybody. It's a great way to basically help people reflect on, kind of like, look inside and think about who they are and what they want out of their lives and their careers.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Yeah well you're serving them and also trying to get them to decide whether or not they want to come forward with you. I mean I think that sounds really healthy. What was the name of the book again?
Lindsay Morton:
We'll give it a little plug. The Energy Bus by John Gordon. I wish I had one I could show it to you.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Sorry, we'll find it. We'll drop it in the notes, too. Yeah. So you use books. And is this a monthly book club?
Lindsay Morton:
You know, we've been, to be honest with you, we've been somewhat inconsistent about it. We do. We're reading Unreasonable Hospitality now, but very spotty because it's summer and on and on. And we've been busy. But yes, so it's it's I would say we try and give people enough time. So it's every like three months. The energy bus was very short. This unreasonable hospitality is a little bit longer. So yeah, we're just trying to be reasonable about it all because you know, it's some people don't like to read but it really does help. It helps like sharpen your skills on so many different levels. And it helps you understand teamwork and It's just we have these discussions during the books, and we have Friday meetings every Friday we have for years, and we turn them into our discussion time around books and the books we're reading. It's really fun.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Well, it gives you guys a point of reference outside of what you do every day, too, that's in common regardless of generation or gender or whatever else, right? Yes. I think it's a great idea, but I'm a reader, so.
Lindsay Morton:
Well, I just gave you two books to read.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Yeah, no, I'm on it. I'm on it. Well, Lindsay, did you always know that you were going to do this? Did you always know you were going to take over the business? I'm saying take over because and maybe you wouldn't describe it that way. I'm describing it that way.
Lindsay Morton:
I mean, I basically am, but I don't know. I've always loved brand names. I've always loved you know really nice things and I haven't always been able to have them so it's been not that I can have them all now either but it's just it's I've always really liked fashion I've liked um just our business in general and so I don't think I really knew I think you know I graduated college and I um I got hired to be a financial analyst and they were paying me $65,000 a year and I thought I was the richest person on the planet Because, you know, in the fashion industry, they don't pay you that much when you first start out.
Terresa Zimmerman:
See, you love data, too, financially. And I took this test and they hired me.
Lindsay Morton:
And I was like, OK, you know, I'm going to go do that because that's what I'm supposed to do. And anyway, I had a different path. But I think I always knew I didn't know that I would love it as much as I do. But I think I was kind of had an inclination that I would join.
Terresa Zimmerman:
for sure. Which part do you love best?
Lindsay Morton:
Oh, that's a that's a hard question. I love I love buying. That's my number one love. That's how I started here. So buying is, you know, huge top three. Our vendor community is extremely important to me personally. I just love the people in our vendor community. And I love buying from the people that work in our vendor community. It's really special. And I just love I just love our people. I love people. I do. Um, and we have special ones and I'm so, I'm so, so blessed to have special people in our lives. So I think that's, that's it. You know, I mean, that's the whole business, right? Vendors and people.
Terresa Zimmerman:
So, I mean, those are the two critical things. You get those two things wrong. You're people and you're by and you're done. Right. So you're, you know, it's not like you chose something easy to love.
Lindsay Morton:
That's true. That's true.
Terresa Zimmerman:
And you know, we're not perfect as buyers, that's for sure. We are at the whim of the customer. Yes, yes, yes. Well, and so what do you maybe not appreciate so much about what you do?
Lindsay Morton:
Oh, I don't want to say hate, but no, I like not appreciate that's very above board. You know, um, I hate down cycles. They're so hard. I hate them. I mean, it's just like, yeah, they're just hard, you know, it's, but I, I think it's special because you just, you know, in your vendor community and within your team, who's in the trenches with you and who's not. So I think there's a light to the down cycles, but the down cycles are always the hardest. for anyone, for any industry. But yeah, those aren't my favorite.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Now, they force a lot of decisions that you don't have to make in up cycles. Yeah, yeah.
Lindsay Morton:
And you just, you never want to do it, you know, they're inevitable. But you just, you just have to, you have to face them. And you got to just you know, run into the storm rather than run out of it and then run away from it. And that's just part of it. So, um, but I'd say that's, that's my least favorite part. And I hate disappointing customers. That's the other thing that I, yeah, that's, that's a big one for me too.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Yeah. I hear you. Yeah. How did you make your transition from financial analyst, you know, owning the world and being able to buy for anything. Cause you thought you were making so much money to you know, probably not starting at the top.
Lindsay Morton:
No.
Terresa Zimmerman:
At the store.
Lindsay Morton:
How'd you do that? Well, we had so we have a we have. Thank you to our dear friends, the Mitchells. We have a five year out policy, so we have a family employment policy and we have to work outside of the business for five plus years in a related field, get two promotions within each job we hold, and then we have to become invited. We have to be invited back into the business at an entry level. So if anybody wants, you know, my kids, whoever want to ever join the business, it's the same policy for them as it was for, you know, me and my brother and sister and Craig's kids. Um, and so I did that and then I was worked in the wholesale side and I worked in the retail side and then I worked for Nordstrom for a little while. And then I was invited back into the business in 2007 and I actually started at our women's store. We had a women's store at the time. And, um, yeah, that's where I got started.
Terresa Zimmerman:
And yeah, I've been here ever since. Oh my gosh. So I want to come back to the women's store, but this is cool. So, so you got the model from another independent store Mitchell's right. We're talking about the store Mitchell's. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and they're, you know, they're renowned, I think in independent retail and, um, yeah. So, so you, whoever set that up is clearly learning from others. Yeah.
Lindsay Morton:
I don't know the history there and I wouldn't want to speak for them, but they were kind enough to share it with us and we implemented it. You know, even before I decided to join the business, it was implemented and yeah, we have them to thank for it because I don't think we would have what we have today without it.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Well, that had to give you a ton of credibility walking in because you didn't just walk in with the name.
Lindsay Morton:
Great. Yeah, that's a great point. I mean, I'll always be the boss's daughter, which I've worked really hard to rid myself of that reputation. But yeah, it does because you're not just you just you know, the industry, you know, a little you don't certainly don't know the company that you know, you're coming into our company or whoever's but you have enough under your belt to really understand the ins and outs of it and you've worked for it and you've earned it rather than being like here you go here you know here's your new CFO and it's a family member so yes I think it helps with the cultural stigma of being the you know daughter or son of an owner.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Well and it helps this, what you've built, what you and your family have built to go on for the next generation or in the next and the next, right? Because I mean, the usually by third generation, you know, stores and fortunes and whatever else are gone, right? Because the third generation just kind of walked into it, but you've set up a
Lindsay Morton:
assist you've systematized um learning in order to run the business that's amazing and that that wasn't you know that like i said the mitchells deserve all the credit and then we went ahead and tweaked some things for us um and hopefully you know we'll have others that want to join the business someday that's great yeah hopefully so and do you do a lot of other peer learning you sharing
Terresa Zimmerman:
with other stores? Yeah, so we were proactive.
Lindsay Morton:
We're very, very fortunate to be part of the forum group, which is there's 12 of us now who are in the group that are all over the country. And we have just this special relationship with every one of these stores. We can call them for any advice we can, you know, if we need anything, we can call them if we have just a VIP or emergency Merchandise request. They're wonderful. I think my dad and Craig can talk a lot more about sort of, you know, 9-11 and what happened with that and how the group was integral in, in kind of helping us through that. And COVID, we had, I was gonna say you were right in the middle of COVID. Yes, we were. Yeah, COVID was in 08-09. I was here. I wasn't You know, I was selling on the floor, so I wasn't really involved. But this group is phenomenal. We wouldn't be who we are without this group. And we are more than peers. We're family. And I could call anybody at any time for anything and they would be there. And I hope that they feel the same way about us and me. um it's very special and it's something that if anyone in any industry wants to have it's probably one of it's the top five most important things that we have in our business is the group the forum group yeah yeah that's great that's great i want um uh i want to come back to you mentioned a couple times having a women's store
Terresa Zimmerman:
and just a small, small one, and then you don't have it anymore. What was that decision like?
Lindsay Morton:
You know, I wasn't involved when they, so there was a women's store that was just on the opposite corner of where we are in Cherry Creek North, and my dad and Craig decided that they wanted to get in the women's business, and so they acquired the store from the owner, the then owner, his name was Dick Auer, and the company was called Auer's, and They had a women's and bridal and it was just a really fun experiment and there were some good times but what we learned from all of it and you know things sort of started to compress in 08 and 09 and you know we just sort of decided let's stick to what we know. We you know we were never women's retailers my dad keeps thinking that maybe we should go and do women's again. I just remember closing the store because I was working on the sales floor and, you know, it's not a fun feeling, but, you know, growth strategies are part, you know, that's part of a growth strategy. And anyway, so it was, it was really fun. It was a good time. Uh, very high end Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, um, Michael Kors, and then we had bridal and shoes and handbags and all that It was a fun moment in time.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Yeah. Women are such a different customer from your core customer. They buy differently. They look at things differently. Colors, I mean, yeah, all of it.
Lindsay Morton:
Yes. And they like to shop around, whereas our customer is extremely loyal. If they can get, you know, their comforters here, they would, you know, they just, so we try to make sure we have everything that they might need. So yeah.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Well, that that's a good segue to, to the next question I have about future what do you see in the next two to three years? And are you preparing for it now? I mean, is comforter sales are those?
Lindsay Morton:
Yep, I'm gonna get into this.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Yeah, no, the question really is more about what kind of change do you see, you know, two or three years out from now? Are you are you kind of planning for something to change or evolves that you're having to prepare for right now?
Lindsay Morton:
It's a really good question. You know, we have three, five, seven, ten year goals. Wow. That's already something. Yes. You know, growth is one of those. What it looks like, I don't know. um but definitely growth um growth and scale growth and maybe another unit i mean we don't know i do think we'll go through a little bit of a contraction here in the next 18 months um i don't think it'll be significant at all but i do think you know we've had several years of really really healthy good business i think across the men's world um so i do you know i don't have a reason why i just think you know every few years, you do see a little correction in the industry. And I do, I believe that we probably are due for that at some point. So, you know, planning for that, you know, planning for we have some people who have been here for a long, long time, kind of, you know, what is their plan? How are we going to fill the gaps when they are gone? You know, hiring great people who want to come in and be part of our store and be here for a long, long time. That's a big focus of ours right now. Uh, we just, um, we have a new landlord or landlord in our, uh, building. And so they have some plans that we have agreed to be a part of. So that's exciting. We have, you know, not in the near term, but that's like seven years from now, lots of really cool things. I'm always looking for new brands. Um, I'm always looking to, you know, add a new shop here and there if I can. I'd love to have somebody else come in and, you know, help us kind of grow in a way that we wouldn't think of like online. We have an online presence, but we don't really utilize it like we should. So, yes, I could go on and on about my dream. Yeah.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Yeah. Well, that that's that's important. I think staff succession is is a really interesting point to
Lindsay Morton:
um especially for the for men's stores and if you've had staff for decades yeah yeah it's very hard in retail to hire great dynamic sellers for sales form it's just it's kind of a lost art and so restaurants that's why we look in you know hospitality industry of any kind um because they seem to really do well here yeah that relationship-based thing again
Terresa Zimmerman:
Yeah. So one more question for you. Why does Main Street matter?
Lindsay Morton:
That is a good question, and I need you to give me a little more context.
Terresa Zimmerman:
I will. I will. So when I say Main Street, I'm talking about independent retail, right? OK. So that's what I mean by Main Street. So why does it matter?
Lindsay Morton:
Oh, Main Street matters so much. Main Street matters because there is so much soul in what we do. And, um, you know, specialty retail is full of soul and heart and, um, you just don't get that experience anywhere else. I mean, if you go to a, a specialty store that sells dishes, that's family owned for 30 years and you find that out, you're like, wow, this is where I want to stop. You're the heart and soul of specialty retail that is unlike anything that you can describe to anyone unless you go in and you find out their story and you start shopping there. That's it. That's why mainstream matters. Street matters because it's, there's just soul in our business, heart and soul in our business that no one else can understand except for us because we're crazy enough to work in it.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Oh, I love that word soul. Oh, you gave me you gave me a gift. There you go.
Lindsay Morton:
The only gift I can give today, Terresa, but there you go.
Terresa Zimmerman:
No, you gave us a gift for being on. Thank you so much. We're going to wrap up right now, but I appreciate your time so much, Lindsay.
Lindsay Morton:
Thank you. And I'm honored to be on. And thank you for thinking of me. I'm just I'm honored. So thank you so much.
Terresa Zimmerman:
Thank you for tuning in to Main Street Matters. Hope you found today's episode insightful and inspiring. I'd love it if you would share Main Street Matters with fellow retail owners or anyone else who loves Main Street. And please subscribe so you know when the next episode drops.
