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Press Release - First Retail Location Opens at Clay Terrace
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Defying statistics: Online retailer begins march to nationwide brick-and-mortar expansion beginning in Indiana
Carmel, Indiana – August 2017 –Chad and Christina Smith know something the rest of the retail industry doesn’t.
Nearly 9,000 storefronts are projected to close this year—the worst year on record. But armed with fresh insight to succeed in the new retail environment and a history of overcoming the odds, the Smiths are bringing their multi-million dollar social media driven online business to Main Streets across America. Their first stop: Carmel, Indiana.
The husband and wife co-owners of Closet Candy Boutique, a women’s clothing store, know shoppers now need a reason to leave the convenience of their home. “Our stores will offer an experience that we can’t give the customer online,” said Christina. “Our staff knows the product inside and out and our customer will feel like she just went shopping with her girlfriends.”
Furthermore, the Smiths know millennial customers are looking to spend their money on experiences that create the most popular social media content. Utilizing her interior design background, Christina designed the store with perfect ‘selfie’ lighting, Instagram-worthy backdrops, and picturesque pieces.
Long-term, the store will use a ship-from-store method, where brick-and-mortar locations are also used as mini warehouses for online customers to get their packages even faster with the websites free shipping. And new locations will be chosen based on the size of the customer base already in place there. “Our online following is asking for concrete locations, and we’re letting them dictate where we go. We plan to expand into Texas and Arizona next because of our markets there,” said Christina. “We chose to come to Indiana first because it’s where Chad grew up, so it feels like home, we grew a large market here when we opened our Headquarters in Westfield and we’re quickly embraced.”
The Smiths are in the business of granting their customers’ wishes. The company itself began in Arizona in 2012 when Christina put a single rack of clothing in her salon for customers to shop while they waited. Soon, people across the country were asking to buy clothing they saw on the salon’s Facebook. With Chads background in computer science and marketing and Christina’s business and operations management experience they created a user friendly website boasting beautiful images of stylish yet affordable clothing. The Facebook following quickly grew to an impressive one million followers, a feat most retailers only dream of.
But it didn’t always run smoothly. Chad was diagnosed with cancer shortly after the business took off, the couple had two young boys at home, and both were working full-time outside of the company. “It was a God thing,” said Christina. “There’s no way we could have done it without Him.
Chad is now in remission, and the company has fulfilled more than 300,000 online orders, donated $100,000 to charity in the past year, and operates debt free. The Grand Opening of the first storefront is set for Saturday, August 19th at Clay Terrace and you can bet Facebook will be a buzz.
“We love that we get to create jobs here in Indiana, give back to charity, and strive to always do things better for our customers and our amazing employees,” said Christina.
Contact:
Erica Walker
17401 Tiller Ct., Ste D
Westfield, IN 46074
Ph: (317) 804-5358