This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
12/06/2017 07:30 AMIt’s the most magical—and profitable—time of the year, and the cash registers are ringing in downtown Madison as small businesses encourage holiday shoppers to spend their dollars in the local community.
Owner of Ciao Bella clothing and accessories boutique Janice Briguglio was instrumental in bringing the Shop Small Movement to Madison, drumming up support for other local businesses to attract crowds to town on the Saturday following Thanksgiving.
“This year, 25 businesses came together and we gave away $700 in gift cards. It makes shopping enjoyable and we are a destination for the day. There were many multi-generational families walking around town, sharing the experience and making memories together,” she says.
“Three years ago, American Express created the Small Business Saturday campaign. We’re all busy on the same day, so it just makes sense for local small businesses to band together to get people to visit downtown Madison to shop for the holidays. We all need each other to make it work.”
It was a busy start to the retail holiday season at Ciao Bella this year with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and the annual Ladies Night shopping event, organized by the Madison Chamber of Commerce, all in one week.
“Madison is really a special town to shop in. We have these great stores that are all unique and all locally owned. When you walk into our stores, chances are you meet the owner behind the counter, who has chosen the merchandise and can help you with whatever you’re looking for,” she says.
Understanding that positive word of mouth and great events are both key to drawing new shoppers, Janice also spearheads the annual Beachcombers event, an evening of shopping, dining, and entertainment at the end of summer.
“Beachcombers brings many summer people into town that have never visited Madison before—and they come back. This year we had 1,000 people at the event, which raised money for Madison’s volunteer fire department,” she says.
Janice acknowledges that the charming downtown of Madison is a major draw for new residents, however not everyone appreciates that to keep the center thriving and active, local people need to support their local businesses.
“We open weekends and we open year-round, so we are here when people want to shop,” she says. “There are less and less people in town shopping on the average day, so we have to go out further and draw them in to come and visit. If locals don’t shop here, we risk becoming like other beach towns that just have stores open in the summer.”
Like many experienced retailers, Janice has lots of stories of helping customers find the right purchase when their online shopping experience goes wrong.
“I’ve had people think they were buying the exact same product we sell and they end up with cheap polyester pants that didn’t fit and they will never wear. I’ve had girls come in searching for a homecoming dress last minute because what they ordered online was wrong. They all say the same thing: ‘I should have come here first,’” she says.
“I never thought I’d become an advocate for ‘shop small,’ but it’s the way I’ve always shopped. I’m someone who likes to see and feel the quality of clothes before I buy them but many people choose to shop differently. Online shopping is big business and some people get everything they buy on Amazon—but Amazon is not giving money back to the local fire department or the local school.”
Ciao Bella has been a fixture of the Madison shopping scene for more than 11 years. Janice and her sister Sheila Salkin of Old Lyme opened at their first location on the eastern end of Boston Post Road before relocating to Wall Street and then back on Route One in the downtown center.
“Ciao Bella started as a home-based business 12 years ago. We imported sweaters and leather goods from Italy and sold them at holiday parties. People would always say, ‘You should have a store,’ so it just felt right,” she says.
Janice grew up in Stratford and graduated with a business degree from Bentley College in Boston. Not excited about a career in accounting, she then studied interior design at Fairfield University and became a travel agent, opening the door to a career in corporate travel.
“I’ve traveled around the world and it was a great experience,” she says. “As a kid, I would often go to work with my mother and I’d keep myself busy filing, organizing office supplies. I’ve always has a business mind, so it made sense to open our own business.”
In 2004, Janice and her husband Gary moved to Guilford to enjoy a quieter lifestyle and live near her family. One year later, working as a corporate travel manager, Janice was faced with a job relocation to New York; instead, she and Sheila established a bricks-and-mortar store.
Eleven years is a long time in retail and there have been many changes.
“Our clothes and gifts were a little higher end, so we diversified and found more moderately priced clothes that were still good quality. We had mostly imported goods then and now we have many lines that are made here in America. We switched gears to be able to best serve our customers and getting through the economic downturn,” Janice says.
From sorority trunk shows to social media to traveling to California or New York to scout the latest trends at buying shows, it’s all part of running a boutique in Madison.
“My sister and I split our jobs and we have both become jacks of all trades. My husband used to call the store my hobby, but now he understands that we’re truly passionate about our store and our business.”
Janice says many of her great memories of the past decade are attached to the store and as well as enjoying working alongside her sister and a great team of employees, it’s the customers that brighten the days.
“I really enjoy the relationship we have with the customers who’ve been with us from the start. Also, there’s the opportunity to create local shoppers when they’re young. It’s all the moments when people say, ‘I love this!’ ‘I have been looking for something just like this for ages,’ [or] ‘This is my favorite thing,’” she says.
“Small business is all about personality and customer service. What you can find here, you can’t find online. We help our customers find the perfect gift, we give advice if they want it, we individually wrap our gifts so they leave the store looking beautiful. It’s what we do in a small business.”