Page 41 - AMC January 2020

Re R rn Mercantile d B e d B a r n a AMY RUTHERFORD OPENED RED BARN MERCANTILE IN OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA IN 2007 TO DELIVER A SERVICE, PROVIDING OLD AND NEW IN ONE PLACE. Her love of home furnishings and carefully curated gifts, combined with flea market finds and vintage-inspired toys were certain to provide an interesting mix of merchandise, but she also wanted her retail store to be an experience that customers would recall fondly and visit often. Old Town is a walkable district with enough restaurants and boutiques to be a destination for visitors as well as an area that local residents frequent. Area businesses work together to organize events that attract more activity to the neighborhood and since moving her store to King Street, Rutherford has been instrumental in designing partnership events with a focus on makers, shopping locally and gatherings that attract customers with children and pets. BUSINESS EVOLUTION As most endeavors do, Rutherford’s business has evolved over the last twelve years. “When we started, we primarily sold home furnishings and antiques with gift sprinkled liberally about,” said Rutherford. “Today, we primarily sell gift with home furnishings and furniture as our secondary revenue source.” Several things contributed to this shift. In 2012, Rutherford moved her store to the smaller, current location on King Street. The space is long and narrow with walls of built-ins to display products. She also implemented a formal inventory management program. With a new focus on data driven measurement of product categories, Rutherford was able to grow sales by increasing inventory at a reasonable rate, resulting in decisions such as eliminating bedding from the sales floor and offering it only as a special order. “The first year after moving and properly managing inventory, we were making a profit for the first time,” said Rutherford. The home furnishings side of the business lives on through the Red Barn Mercantile Design Collective where Rutherford partners with interior designers to procure products sourced through Red Barn.> AmericasMart.com | 31