Page 239 - AmericasMart: Market Magazine July 2018

“When people walk into the store they can tell we have a real vested interest in the
lines we carry.” GREG BOULOS
HOLIDAY & FLORAL/HOME DÉCOR
Growing from a comfort space to an expanded business
Every move Boulos has made is an expansion on areas his business was already pursuing. “We started as an event company with a floral element,” says Boulos. “We have The Masters Tournament here in Augusta, so we spent the early years doing a lot of corporate events and weddings. We immediately had dozens of corporate clients thanks
to a relationship with a caterer in town.”
As an event planner, Boulos learned how to be flexible enough to adjust to changing circumstances. That approach is ultimately what set him up to grow into an operation that now offers customers everything from custom invitations to fine floral designs to tabletop, home decor and giftware.
Finding the right product mix to fit the customer and the owner’s aesthetic
Phase one of Charleston Street’s evolution came when Boulos moved Charleston Street into a mall retail space that used to be a garden shop. His old office had essentially been a studio and workspace for event planning, but Boulos saw the chance to grow at the mall.
“We had to decide what we would offer people who walked in from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” he says. “I wasn’t used to keeping
regular hours and didn’t really have a lot of retail items. I had to quickly find things I liked.”
His family’s business background is in antiques, art and oriental rug, so he started there, with what he knew. Then, he drew inspiration from within his existing business, expanding floral into retail by selling potted compositions alongside candle lines and local art.
Boulos explains his buying strategy then and now in a couple of anecdotes.“When I got married, we got a beautiful Simon Pearce bowl from a good friend and, as soon as we got back from our honeymoon, I brought in Simon Pearce,” he says. “Before that,
I was in New York and saw these beautiful glasses (at the now- closed Takasimaya department store). It took me four weeks to find the small, obscure company that made them, but we’ve had Juliska almost as long as we’ve existed.”
That touches on another key part of Charleston Street’s evolution. Once Boulos finds a company he likes, he goes
all in. “When people walk into the store they can tell we have a real vested interest in the lines we carry,” says Boulos.
“Instead of having 100 different vendors, we focus on five to 10 because we feel comfortable about the culture and what
those companies represent.” >
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