Self-serve chili could help Charlie & Barney’s grow nationally
Charlie & Barney’s is quietly expanding into unorthodox niches, placing its product in unusual places — like convenience
stores.
Retailers
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After a dozen years, Natural Stone Specialist growing seeks more commercial biz
Twelve years after opening Natural Stone Specialists, Laura Christy is still just as passionate about the Carmel-based business,
which
sells high-end stone, metal and glass tiles.
Nordstrom new north-side store targets tonier shoppers
Come Sept. 19, Nordstrom Inc.’s got a brand new bag–and, well, shoes, hat and ensemble to match–as the department store
opens a second Indianapolis location, in the Fashion Mall at Keystone. Residing in Parisian’s former quarters,
the new store is poised to burnish the mall’s reputation as the region’s highest-end shopping destination.
Hat World shows sign of recovering from lackluster year
The locally based headwear retailer Hat World made a name for itself by snatching up competitors and opening hundreds of
stores around the country. However, after sluggish sales in the fiscal year that ended Feb. 2, the company–a
unit of Nashville, Tenn.-based Genesco Inc.–says it plans to open fewer stores than usual this year so
officials can put their focus back on existing operations.
Independent coffee shops feeling perkier than Starbucks
At a time when Starbucks is closing hundreds of stores nationwide, he and other local independent coffeehouse owners say they’re doing just fine, largely because they’re infusing their stores with personality and offering consumers an experience chain stores can’t replicate.
10 local Starbucks will be among 600 nationwide closings
At least 10 local Starbucks stores are slated to close by early next year as part of a 600-store nationwide purge. The chain
has named only 50 of the stores it plans to close, including two in Indiana, but it has notified the others. Those include
at least six in Indianapolis and stores in Carmel, Greenwood and Beech Grove.
Ailing Steak n Shake rehires ad agency, but will pact stick?
Local advertising powerhouse Young & Laramore signed a new contract with Steak n Shake, one of its flagship clients, just
two weeks ago, but ad industry observers can’t help but wonder if the 18-year-old relationship is about to run its course.
Before the ink on the contract was dry, the struggling hamburger chain had a new board chairman who is likely to shuffle Steak
n Shake’s executive suite and take the company in a new direction.
HHGregg tuned into growth
Undeterred by a rocky economy, locally based electronics retailer HHGregg is trailblazing into new markets on a quest to quadruple
in size. The firm’s “price and advice” mantra seems to be catching on. That’s no surprise to Jerry Throgmartin, a 33-year
veteran of Gregg who has served as the company’s chairman and CEO since 2003.
Running Co. takes aim at sporting-goods giants
Retired Olympic distance runner Bob Kennedy and his business partner, Ashley Johnson, have expanded their Running Co. to four
stores. The most recent expansion is their boldest yet, pitting them against mall giants Dick’s Sporting Goods, The Finish
Line and Foot Locker for supremacy among south-side runners and walkers.
250 retailers express interest in midfield terminal space
Retailers and restaurateurs have flooded Indianapolis International Airport with letters-of-interest for space in the midfield
terminal, which is scheduled to open in late 2008. The demand is “more than five times” the number of concession spaces available,
airport managers say.
Financial woes may keep Genesco purchase from crossing Finish Line
An acquisition that looked daring and bold when it was announced quickly blew up on Finish Line Inc. The Indianapolis retailer
agreed in June to buy Tennessee-based Genesco Inc.–parent of Journeys, Hat World and other mall chains–for $1.5 billion
in
cash.
Kits & Kaboodle founder back at it with Mass Ave store
Local-toy-store veteran Natalie Canull is now operating a bustling store on Massachusetts Avenue that’s narrowly focused on
upscale toys–a niche that keeps her out of the path of mass-market heavyweights like Toys “R” Us and Wal-Mart.
Pizza parlor, dog groomer among those going mobile
Neighborhood Pizza, which operates out of the back of a souped-up box truck equipped with a pizza oven and other necessities,
is among a growing number of startups that are hitting the road–literally.
Not-for-profit thrift stores shake low-end image
Thrifty Threads store manager Tim Waldrip can hardly keep up when he puts stylish used clothes on the thrift store’s mannequins.
Customers snag them so quickly he has to change the outfits three to four times a day. Regardless of what its mannequins are
wearing, the not-forprofit shop on West 86th Street is flourishing. Sales in 2006 reached $336,000-a 24-percent increase from
the previous year. Now the Julian Center, the Indianapolis shelter for abused women that runs Thrifty Threads, is…
HH Gregg account goes up for grabs
HH Gregg–under increasing market pressure–has put its multimillion-dollar advertising account up for bid, and Pearson McMahon
Fletcher England this month decided not to pursue the contract it has held for an unprecedented 24 years.
Chocolatier maintains steady routine between busy seasons
Each week at David Alan Chocolatier in Lebanon, three employees make a different variety of chocolate truffles, nut clusters
and other chocolate-laden delights. Alan uses 7,000 pounds of chocolate a year to make his products out of the renovated gas
station he has operated at since 1984.
Randy’s Toy Shop breathes life into ailing play things
Randy Ibey, owner of Randy’s Toy Shop in Noblesville, is legendary among antique toy collectors and dealers worldwide. Ibey
can fix more kinds of toys than an elf in Santa's workshop–from a German tin soldier created in the 1850s to a remote-control
Pluto made a century later.
H.H. Gregg betting big on flat screens
Locally based Gregg Appliances Inc. found itself flat-footed last holiday season when consumers demanded flat-panel TVs. The
popular televisions were in short supply at H.H. Gregg stores. This year, Gregg has bet on a huge selection of flat-panel
TVs to buoy sales.
Starbucks pours it on in Indiana
Over the last seven years, Starbucks has inundated virtually every corner of the Hoosier landscape. And the company has no
plans to slow down. Several Indiana towns–from Gas City to Angola, Batesville to Bluffton–will get their first Starbucks
in 2007.
Faced with competition, record shops look for fresh ways to rock
Music CD sales are falling–down 8 percent so far in 2005–while digital downloading of music jumped 163 percent. And nearly one-third of the nation’s record stores have closed in the past three years. Even so, Indianapolis record-store owners say they’ve been reasonably successful adapting to a changing marketplace.