Blooming in Virginia Beach

Terri Marko and Kessy Heath met three months before they decided to open Wild Orchid in the fall of 2003. Heath has a degree in interior design and Marko's background is in advertising, but when these self-proclaimed power shoppers recognized a lack of exceptional home accent stores in their Virginia Beach neighborhoods they decided to do something about it.

They went to their first High Point market with the idea of selling mostly furniture, offering in-store design services and carrying a few accessories and jewelry. Their customers had other ideas.

"People came in and loved the store and started asking us to come to their homes," Heath said. "That kicked off our design business."

The pair quickly realized that while they were selling furniture, it was the home accents, gifts and jewelry that were flying out the door.

The business has quickly grown to $800,000 in annual sales and this year their goal is to pull back from the whirlwind ride, focus on their numbers and move the store to the next level.

"We're trying to become experts on the real business side of retail and figure out how to increase our profitability," Marko said.

Marko and Heath said they make the store unique because it's their passion; they are "the spirit of the store that people love." Customers feel comfortable shopping Wild Orchid and don't feel pressured by sales people like they do in other shops. Since they've both lived in the area for years, they know a lot of people and word of mouth has been a great advertisement.

Marko describes their style as casual sophistication, sort of a shabby chic with a modern twist. They carry mid- to high-end lines with product from vendors like Cisco Brothers, Currey & Company, Excavo, Casa Fiora, Barreveld, Jamie Young, Bella Notte and Two's Company. Customers can find accent furniture, lamps, lighting, wall decor, candles, bath and body, decorative pillows, permanent botanicals, area rugs, tabletop, tabletop accessories and decorative accessories as well as furniture, drapery, gifts and jewelry at Wild Orchid.

Product is displayed by category in tiered vignettes and, rather than use fixtures or shelving, Heath uses the furniture as the anchor.

"Everything is for sale," Heath said. "Our displays usually have a large piece in the middle and we build around that. We do a lot of displays by color or theme instead of spreading the product out, but we don't show 15 of any one item."

The top-selling categories are drapery, bedding, lighting, decorative accessories and artwork, specifically original art. The best margins come from mirrors, art and lighting. Since both Heath and Marko have a passion for art, it's only natural they'd sell it, but they've learned, at least in their store, that customers prefer original works to prints.

"We started out with original art and did well and then brought in prints," Marko said. "Our customers preferred the original. The price point is key; we sell work for $300 to $400. We pound the pavement for art and we don't do much with local artists because they're usually in galleries."

The store is located at La Promenade Distinctive Shoppes, described as a not-so-pricey blend of New York and Palm Beach; and, with neighbors like Williams-Sonoma and Starbucks, Wild Orchid enjoys a lot of foot traffic.

One of Wild Orchid's most successful events is its annual tent sale held each summer.

"If we just put stuff outside without the tent it looks cheap," Marko said, "But the tent screams that there's an event going on and it's great. Last summer we had a rug show with one of our vendors and it was phenomenal."

Customers also responded well to an after-hours jewelry party. Marko sent out postcards for the event and vendors sent items to the store on approval like a trunk show. Jewelry has become one of Wild Orchid's fastest growing categories.

"I've always loved clothes and jewelry so I knew we'd have some in the store," Marko said. "But I had no idea the jewelry would move like this. I read an article about Neiman Marcus where they said no matter what the economy is doing, jewelry and purses will sell, and it's true."

Marko said their best business idea so far was opening the doors and choosing a location next to Starbucks in the most upscale shopping center in the area because it sets the standard for what people expect from Wild Orchid.

The worst idea came from naively opening the store without a POS system in place.

"We were very wrong," Marko said. "We thought we didn't need it. But without it we couldn't capture any detailed information the first year. It's hard to do after the fact, but we did it."

Marko and Heath divvy up responsibilities. Marko does a lot of the backend jobs like the computer and accounting while Heath's strengths are in customer service and managing the four employees.

"We had to assign tasks because when you go into business with someone, it's like getting married," Marko said. "We didn't do that the first year. Now we have a corporate meeting once a month to see where we are and even up the duties if we need to."

Like most retailers, their biggest challenges are managing and juggling all of the hats owners wear and moving from the back end of the store and the design business to putting a smile on your face and greeting customers.

Both said the most enjoyable part of the business, aside from the buying of course, is the customer.

"When someone walks in and says 'We love your store!' it's like them walking into your house and saying that," Marko said.

Jewelry and personal accessories from Extasia and Moyna respectively, have proven a successful addition to Wild Orchid.	Jewelry displays are surrounded by Timeworks clocks, LaMarche mirrors and chandeliers from Currey & Company.

Operations

Though finding good employees is every retailer's challenge, Marko and Heath have found in-store signage works well. They've also recognized that hiring employees who have a passion, whether it's for design, customer service or the product, is key.

The pair also realizes the importance of properly compensating their staff, both with flexible schedules and salary.

"You have to pay employees as much as you possibly can," Marko said. "Overpay them if you can and you get loyalty, and that's huge because it flows into the perception people have of your business."

The store is closed on Sundays and closes at 6 p.m. the rest of the week. Employees receive a generous employee discount as well. This year Marko and Heath are looking into health care, a huge expense and major step for a small business, but one they feel they have to make to attract and keep good employees.

Training comes in the form of a monthly store meeting where employees learn about new product, not only from a factual standpoint but also from a romance standpoint where they learn nuances of the product to help describe it to customers.

"For example, we have a goblet from Match that resembles the one from the Harry Potter movie, Goblet of Fire," Marko said. "Those types of details are interesting, but they also give our employees talking points and make them feel more confident about the product. It's the same with our original art, knowing about the artist or the painting really helps."

Marko and Heath have a positive outlook for 2006. They have strong employees in place that can run the store while they focus on growing the business, as well as a new designer to work on the design side. They recognize they need to have plans in place and know where their business is going.

"We've grown so fast that we've band-aided things instead of analyzing them," Marko said. "I'm very analytical and I know we can improve things greatly if I have the time to work out a strategy. Even though you have to take leaps of faith in retailing and not be afraid of failing, you still have to have a goal and a clear plan to reach that goal."

Wall decor is a best seller for Wild Orchid, particularly original works. Furniture, like the armoire from Excavo, also serves as display pieces and upholstery, like the Jeff Zimmerman chair and Cisco sofa, offers a healthy custom business.