Wickford Merchants Join Under One Roof

While many small businesses across the country struggle to survive in today’s economy, four Wickford businesses have created a unique strategy to beat the recession blues.

Thursday night marked the grand opening of The Shops at Wilson’s to celebrate Wickford merchants Lulabell’s, The Wellness Store and Mystic Scrimshanders joining together inside the Wilson’s building on Brown Street.

“It’s a way to be proactive and not wait for things to change,” said Theresia Kelly of The Wellness Store. “Instead we’re creating a whole new concept, which is actually an old concept.”

Wilson’s owners Jim and Craig Wilson said they modeled the new setup after the old department stores of the 1950s, where customers could expect a wide variety of specialized merchandise under one roof.

“This is a trend nationwide, combining complimentary businesses under one roof,” said Craig Wilson.

“I had never thought about doing something like this,” said Scrimshanders owner Barbara Cullen. “But the Wilsons approached me about it and I did out the math on it and it seemed to fit better. We have a common customer base.”

in the right rear of the store. A few months later, Mystic Scrimshanders moved in on the left rear corner, followed by Lulabell’s just four weeks ago. Unlike Scrimshanders, which vacated its old building, neighbor Lulabell’s will keep its shop open on Main Street. According to owner Susan Roberston, the Wilson’s location will largely feature the store’s home décor stock while the store on Main Street will be more geared toward jewelry and accessories.

For Cullen, the move from her old location on Main Street into the Wilson’s building has already proven to be a vast improvement.

“I’ve sold more original pieces in the first two months here than I did in two years at my old location,” said Cullen. “It’s been great.”

One of the biggest, and sometimes most comical, obstacles is explaining the changes to the customers.

“I have some people walk in through the back door, see my products and home décor and not Wilson’s clothing, and go back outside to walk through the front door,” said Robertson. (The Wilsons plan to have new signage to help remedy the problem.)

Aside from the confusion, store owners say feedback from customers has been largely positive.

“We had one lady a few weeks ago who came in and loved the concept,” said Jim Wilson. “She told us ‘I’m going to do all my Christmas shopping here.’”