HOMEFEST FINDS A NICHE...AND DECORATES IT
Had Mike Di Paulo and his wife, Lindy, opened their
Fort Collins-based Homefest shop two or three years
earlier, they might have a different story to tell.
The couple moved to town in 1993 with plans to open
some sort of retail outfit. They settled on the idea
of a fine home-accessories and gift shop, and opened
a 3,000-square-foot Store in Fort Collins' Old Town.
It was a bit of a risk, said Mike Di Paulo, who cut
his teeth in the garment manufacturing business. "We
knew we were at the front of a trend, and had we come
in a few years earlier, it would have been too soon.
But Fort Collins was a growing, business-friendly
town, and we thought people were ready for something
a Little higher-end and a bit more sophisticated."
How fight they were.
Four years later, flushed with the success of their
first store, the couple opened a second Homefest in
Denver. Optimally situated between the well-heeled
communities of Greenwood Village and Cherry Hills,
the store flourished. Revenue growth at the Denver
store has exceeded 30% a year, Di Paulo said, and
between March '99 and March 2000, sales jumped 58%.
These returns fit nicely with the Di Paulos' long-held
expansion plans. Within the next few months, they
expect to open a third location in Newport Beach,
Calif., that will spearhead a rapid expansion into
several toney Southern California communities.
Homefest's inventory changes constantly to accommodate
fickle customers. Products range from distressed-wood
furniture that looks fresh from the farmhouse to animal
and botanical prints reminiscent of some Hemingway-esque
safari.
"Our niche is very trend-related," Di Paulo
said. "We have to be very attentive to what our
customers want in terms of style and price."
Homefest's merchandise and the way it's displayed
in still-life clusters around the store recently earned
the Di Paulo's the ARTS Award for outstanding home-accent
specialty store in the 18-state Midwest/Southwest
Region from the Dallas Market Center and Accessories
Resource Team.
While many of their peers seek fiches at the end
of the e-commerce rainbow, the Di Paulos are more
interested in saturating a small area with six to
eight stores and a bricks-and-mortar chain featuring
a personalized shopping experience.
"I'm not sure e-commerce is fight for us,"
Di Paulo said. "Part of the appeal of what we
sell is the store itself. I'd say 92% of our customers
are women, and many of them use shopping as a form
of relaxation, a form of therapy. That's lost on a
computer."
