continued. . . 

Take June, for instance. June Masler has worked at Polly DuPont for 32 years. She turns 82 this June (naturally), and was the recipient of a huge in-store birthday party for her 80th birthday which was lovingly advertised in the Dallas Morning News. “We had a picture of June when she started at the store when she was just 50 and another of her at 80 in the ads,” James says. “You wouldn’t believe how many people love this lady.” There may be good reason for that. “June knows the credit card number of everyone who has ever shopped with us,” James quips. “That’s the kind of service June has provided over the years. Everyone trusts her.”

It’s a tight ship; just seven employees in addition to the three principals. The supply side is also kept manageable. With 400 vendors represented, Polly DuPont is loyal to its suppliers, as the effusive plaudits on pages 144 and 145 confirm. “We like to keep our assortments fresh and new,” says James, “but we also support our loyal vendors. If they’re good to us, we’re good to them.” Many vendors, in fact, get a good report card grade in areas of responsiveness, service, shipping, and flexibility. “Our vendors, for the most part, are easy to work with,” James acknowledges. They won’t work with suppliers that sell to mass merchants, making it impossible to compete on price. Waterford and Arthur Court have the most in-store real estate, and the latter is a favored vendor. “Arthur Court is the best,” James affirms. “If every vendor treated us like they do, we’d all be rich and happy.”

While no one’s really getting rich retailing tabletop, Polly DuPont registers very respectable double digit growth yearly. Consistent advertising in the Dallas Morning News to “keep our name out there” as well as a coddled customer base helps. The typical customer is anything but typical. Decidedly female, but running the entire age and economic gamut, the one consistency is they frequent the store fairly often. This phenomenon inspired the store’s tag line: “You can never have too much Polly DuPont,” which was indeed voiced by a satisfied customer one day. “We always want to keep her interested and coming back for more,” says Dankesreiter. “It’s one reason we keep our assortments fresh and changing.”

When the competition recommends you to their customers, you must be doing something right. Local competitor Neiman Marcus often suggests their customers check out Polly DuPont for items they don’t carry. “We share a customer,” McCown agrees, “but we also know that if our customers can buy the piece they want with us, they will. That’s because we know and take care of every customer. They get waited on here.” The store maintains a 5,000-strong mailing database.

Attention to detail is critical, the three say, because competition is so heated. “It’s a real challenge staying ahead of everyone else,” James allows. “Just keeping up is hard.” The fact is Polly DuPont more than just keeps up. Take their Customer Appreciation Day, held the Sunday before Thanksgiving. More than 500 customers can be found browsing the store between noon and five, sipping wine, munching on hors d’oeuvres, and, of course, snatching up product. A number of vendors are usually on hand to award door prizes.

There are generally three large annual events, many of them revolving around a vendor who brings in an artisan to demonstrate his craft. The most popular draws are Herend, Waterford, and Arthur Court. “These are huge events,” says James, “and we usually pre-sell most items.”

The guys have a wish list of things they’d like to bring to fruition in the not-too-distant future. High on the list: more sales trainings. “We could always use more,” James cedes, “but there’s not a great willingness by some vendors to help.” The testimony that follows this page suggests that certain Polly DuPont vendors are eager to go above and beyond the call of duty to keep this account happy. “All we’re doing is business the way we always thought business should be done,” says McCown. His partner concurs. “There would have been no point Jim and I buying the store if we weren’t going to do things differently than what was being done,” says James. “Attention to our customers has always been our driving force and we have no intention of ever compromising that.”

continued . . . .