By Aurora Sutherland 

When you think of small towns like Hope, BC you don’t think of leading-edge fashion. Carol Raspberry thinks differently. Carol envisioned a store that derived its fashion sense from music, surf, skate and art. She launched Glitch Fashion Studios to provide the latest styles from leading brands and provide a great place to experiment with fashion.

Nine months in, and Carol is looking to grow.  “It’s been a whirlwind,” laughed Carol.  “Everyone hopes to just survive the first year.  I’m looking at expansion.”

One of the main reasons for Glitch’s success is her exhaustive planning.  “I spent two years getting my business plan together, before I even approached TACC.”  Those two years were spent visiting stores in neighbouring communities, researching how to best display clothing, watching upcoming fashion trends, and anything else she thought might give her insight into the world of leading-edge hip fashion.  In other words, determining what worked.  At the end of that time, she knew exactly what she wanted, and her plan reflected this.

As Carol knows, a good business plan describes both strengths and weaknesses.  Carol’s weakness?  “I’d never worked in retail before,” she admitted.  This was a concern for her, since she didn’t have experience to guide her when planning her financials.  Again, TACC helped.  They reviewed her plan, and their many years of business experience helped ensure that her numbers were realistic.  As well, they showed her the best places to get the information she needed to polish her business plan.

Even though she didn’t have any retail experience, Carol wasn’t going in unarmed or naive.  Having worked with the government to evaluate business plans, she knew what went into a good plan, and what was missing from weak ones.

In June 2006, a year after first talking to TACC, Glitch Fashion Studios opened their doors.  For all of Carol’s planning, she wouldn’t know how well she had read the market until launch.  The opening was surprisingly smooth.  Being in a small town, Carol’s first concern was connecting with the community.  It wasn't quiet and there were no dead days in the beginning. One of the advantages of the June opening was that there are significantly more tourists passing through Hope during the summer months.

One of the biggest challenges was getting brand name products in the door. The larger brands wanted to see a successful store track record before supplying merchandise, and being a brand new operation made this difficult.  Carol’s accomplishments have been steadily eroding this obstacle.  With more than half a year of growth under her belt she has been picking up the bigger brands, some of which are exclusive to her store in the area.  Also, out of respect to her local clientele, she carries as much selection as possible.  “Nobody wants to buy an outfit and suddenly see ten other people wearing it,” said Carol.  “I bring in a wide variety of clothes so that doesn’t happen.”  And she doesn’t plan on stopping with clothing.  She is already offering some footwear to coordinate with available outfits, and is looking at expanding other offerings.

When asked what she was doing differently in 2007, Carol said that January provided the opportunity to fine-tune her store.  Her ongoing challenge is combining training staff, running the store, sourcing and buying stock.  “Even when I’m standing in line for groceries, I’m looking.  I spend hours every day looking for the next fashion trend,” she said.

Located less than two hours from Vancouver, Carol has even been able to tap into the Vancouver market. By keeping a fresh and changing stock she is developing a loyal clientele who will come from the city once a month.  This naturally led Carol to look at other channels.  She is currently working on a web site so products can be ordered online.  She not only wants to give people the ease of buying without having to drive to her store, but to be able to easily see what new items are coming available.

How does she fit in everything she wants to accomplish, when most new retail store owners are just trying to stay alive?  She understands that her two staff, the Glitch Girls, are an important part of her team.  Having perceptive staff helps her manage her family time – critical with two young children – as well as successfully run the store.  She ensures they have the product knowledge they need to assist customers and to continually update their selection based on market demands.

When asked about her long term goals, Carol immediately talked about opening a second store.  And why not?  After less than a year she has shown that she knows where she is going, and her tremendous growth proves she knows what she is doing.  Carol’s focus and planning have turned an idea into the popular and successful Glitch Fashions Studios.  “I’m very close to my goals” she said.  A simple statement that says it all.


Carol Raspberry
Glitch Fashion Studios
780 Fraser Avenue (Box 1753)
Hope, BC, V0X 1L0
Tel: 604.869.2973
Fax: 604.869.3351
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Women’s Brands available: Billabong, Rip Curl, Element, Dorinha Jeans, YMI Jeans, FLosport, Delicious, Groggy, Zoo Girl, Mavi Jeans, O'Neill, Buffalo, Vegas 702, Life Basics, American Apparel, Engine, G-Unit, Ecko, Enyce, Rocawear, Point Zero.  Coming Soon: Split Girl.
 
Men’s Brands available: Billabong, AlpineStars, Shady, Ecko, G-unit, Rocawear, Rip Curl, Buffalo, Vegas 702, Zoo York, Element.  Coming Soon: Affliction, Dragon Optical, Averix.