By MEEGAN HOLLAND
Rick Melahn never expected to get into retail; he never expected to own his own store in Saugatuck.
He never expected to move into Big Ten logo merchandise and then end up at a not-for-profit retail store when by all rights he could comfortably retire.
Impression 5 museum is currently featuring “Amazing Dinosaurs!” with lifelike recreations and real fossils.
But 40-plus years after his first job as a sales associate at Ambercrombie & Fitch, he’s excited about all the dinosaurs, science kits and games that teachers, parents and kids snatch up at the shop he runs inside the Impression 5 Science Center in Lansing.
Why does he keep coming back? Because he can’t keep his hands – or eyes – off the merchandise. While some experts emphasize sales training or multi-channel outlets, Melahn’s strength is his eye for display.
STARTING OUT
Melahn, fresh out of college with an education degree but no teaching job, started at Chicago’s Ambercrombie & Fitch in the early 1970s. At that time the store carried high-end hunting and fishing clothing and accessories, crystal, jewelry and the luggage that Melahn sold. He took the luggage lined up on shelves and tilted it on angles, displayed it on tables and put the high-end bags behind the counter, giving it an air of exclusivity.
That was his first taste of retail, before getting a teaching job teaching sixth graders for three years, before moving on to a more lucrative flight attendant job with United Airlines. It was the perfect profession to give him benefits and enough time off to help friends opening a casual men’s clothing store in 1980 in Saugatuck, which was starting to take off as a resort town.
He quickly became immersed in the store, whose clientele was mostly from Chicago and Indiana, with plenty of disposable income. He kept the store open until 10 to accommodate tourists waiting for dinner reservations or better yet, catching them after dinner and a couple glasses of wine.
He observed that women were the main shoppers – so why not add women’s clothing? When the preppy look started waning in the 80s and SUVs were carting owners to cabins (aka high-end second homes), it was time to change to new brands: The North Face and Columbia.
And as long as tourists were buying clothing, why not offer up home goods that could accessorize those second homes?
Eventually Melahn not only bought out his friends but also a larger building, all while still flying the friendly skies at United Airlines.
Despite his second career, he’d be the first to admit that “The owner needs to be there. You need to know who your clientele is, what they are looking for and what can set you apart from the other retailers down the street.” Luckily, he had blocks of time off and an employee whom he trusted implicitly to run the place when he was flying.
THE CREATIVITY OF RETAIL
Melahn loves the creativity of retail – especially the merchandising aspects. (See sidebar for his display tips).
“To me, the No. 1 priority in retailing is merchandising – your visual approach,” Melahn said. “Our beautiful 100-year-ol building had a canoe hanging from the ceiling with a display in it. We bought furniture … very seldom did we use a rack.”
Impression 5 entrance
The image of a store outside and inside is key to its success, Melahn says. Too many stores have window displays that block the sidewalker’s view. “The number one factor for a customer is you want to peek inside! A lot of retailers are missing that nowadays.”
He would change up the displays every several weeks, so returning customers could see merchandise in a new light. “Some customers would say to me, ‘Oh you got new merchandise!’” Melahn said. “No, I just displayed it differently.”
He also paired items to help the customer pick out a complete ensemble, rather than having all pants here and all shirts over there.
He admires Bradly’s Home and Garden in Old Town Lansing and Eastown Grand Rapids. “They have items hanging from the ceilings, groupings of furniture – it all draws your eye in.”
‘IT WAS MY HEART’
When his partner got a teaching position at Michigan State University, he sold the store and building in 2006, with no desire for a succession plan.
“I put 26 years of my life into it. It was mine. It was my heart. I sold the building and said good-bye,” Melahn says.
Life took him to the gift shop inside Michigan State University’s Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center. It was so tiny it couldn’t begin to maximize the sales on a football game day. He expanded across the hall and threw up tents on game days to sell more merchandise. He heard women complain about the limited clothing choices – they wanted feminine styles, not “their husband’s oversized sweatshirt.” He ordered more styles, went beyond the Spartan green color mode and added some bling (“Suzy Merchant loves the bling,” Melahn smiled).
He left the university store so he could spend time with his grade school-aged grandkids. He started volunteering for one of their favorite destinations – Impression 5 Science Center – and soon enough he was rearranging the store, making inventory suggestions and increasing sales.
Executive Director Erik Larson took note, and hired Melahn to run the store with the goal of increasing profits. Sales have gone from $117,000 to $180,000 last year; Melahn wants to hit $225,000 this year, and eventually $250,000 in annual sales.
He’s tailored the store to fit the Hot Wheels exhibit, and now he’s devised ways to create hype for this summer’s dinosaur exhibit.
Now that Toys ‘R’ Us is gone, Melahn notes that the museum store is the only one in the area dedicated to toys. He wants people to think of shopping at the museum store for gifts. Last year, he brought in sales reps to demonstrate their toys to parents and supporters during an evening holiday party with wine and appetizers. It pulled in $4,500 in sales.
Not-for-profit retailing is different, Melahn says. Prices are a little higher because the museum can’t buy in bulk like large retailers and they must take into account membership discounts on purchases. But Melahn emphasizes to customers that they’re supporting a wonderful institution.
“Everyone who works here has a love for Impression 5, and that all starts at the top. Everything done here is for the pleasure of kids. And every item I sell goes back into the center, and that’s what I love about it. I have never felt more a part of retail than I do now,” Melahn says.
RICKS TIPS ON MERCHANDISING
• Get products that are right for your look and then figure out how to merchandise it.
•Have the wow factor – sometimes buy one thing that seems too expensive. People will think of your store differently from others.
• Think beyond the rack. Put neatly folded clothes on a wonderful table. Line sweaters in baskets.
• Nothing should be straight across. You want height to draw the customer’s eye to the entire display. If everything is uniform, you’ll lose them. When you look in somebody’s window, have a mannequin for height, and something on the floor next to it.
