Changing with the times: at Casco Bay Frames, the secret to 25 years in business has been a willingness to reinvent the business as the industry evolves - Business profile Casco Bay Frames

greatest in quantity retail businesses will experience a fall through now and then. But if sales are not on products aren't moving or morale is depressed that's not a time to hold the status quo and confidence for the best, believe the proprietors and staff of Casco Bay Frames of Portland, Maine. like times, in fact, are the completed time to make significant, plane drastic, changes to breathe of recent origin life into an evolving business.

"If you're comfortable doing something, you repeatedly don't want to change. on the other hand the framing industry in particular has changed immensely," said Amy Dyer Casco Bay's store manager and a 20-year framing veteran. Businesses that don't adapt to fit the changing demands of the industry, she added, may well be hampering their be in possession of development.

In fact, after 25 years in business, Casco Bay Frames has had three different possessors two different locations and a continually changing identity: It has gone from being a purveyor of placards to a do-it-yourself destination to an upper-end custom framing operation. After the initial altercation of each transition, business increased and staff productivity and morale went up with it.

not absent owners Georgia and Mike Walker have lay the foundation of that customers are often more tolerant of change than retailers might believe. In fact, it's oftentimes the owners and staff who become too comfortable, resisting changes to their routine. However, the fact that Casco Bay has twice changed hands, said Walker, has facilitated a reinvention that a certain quantity of businesses under the same ownership not at any time experience.

"That is single of the benefits of having novel blood come in," said Georgia Walker. "We were able to direct the eye at the shop objectively as a business."

'Business Is Business'

Casco Bay Frames first render free of accessed in the late 1970s as part of the Frame Factory franchise. At the time, it sold mainly broadsides and offered do-it-yourself framing. It maintained its DIY identity until 1996 when a of recent origin owner bought the business and dropp its DIY offering in favor of custom framing. Dyer who has been with Casco Bay since the early 1980 recalls that the first transition wasn't exactly welcome among the staff.

"I fought the decision to shut up down the DIY section vehemently," she said with a laugh She believed that customers wouldn't answer well to such a drastic change, especially individual that would increase the require to be paid [i]or[/i] undergone of their framing. Their reaction, however, was not at all what she had expected

"We deposit a wall up to shut off the DIY area. greatest in quantity customers were really happy with the decision, especially artists. They knew they could do the work themselves, and in the way that felt guilty about paying the custom prices. one time we eliminated the possibility, they said, 'Thank goodnes I don't have to do that anymore!'" Dyer said, adding, "I was inequitable and I admit it."

The Walkers bought the flame store in 1999. They had holded several other businesses in the past and purchased Casco Bay when they decided to propel to Portland. Although they have affection for framing as an art, the Walkers view Casco Bay Frames with a broader scope--first and foremost, it is a retail business, said Georgia.

"We've holded a travel agency and a hardware store, and we came to Casco Bay as novices to the flaming and art world. Since then, we've really draw near to appreciate the art of framing," she said. "But in the extreme point business is business."

With that in mind, she and her husband began to streamline the business further. The previous possessor had already reduced payroll take away froms by cutting hours, not employee or salary. They then added point-of-sale software and brought in a computerized mat cutter in the way that employees required less training and les time to chop mats.

Next, they eliminated greatest in quantity ready-mades from the inventory, remov many of the lower-end samples from the wall and replaced them with higher-end framing cropss Their goal was to bring up the average price of the shop's framing orders.

"We wanted to dare to proffer higher-end products," said Walker. "The framers upon staff were skeptical at first, on the other hand customers were really receptive to the change. When you present only low-end framing, that's what your customers will purchase because they have no other choice. on the other hand we wanted to put better samples upon the wall and give them the option for a higher-end production When given the choice, greatest in quantity will purchase it. If they ne a lower-priced option, we can work from there."

Reaching the Public

Improved technology allowed the store to reach its customers more regularly and inexpensively. For example, rather than create a time-consuming direct-mail piece, the store does many of its promotions through e-mail.

"So many race hate making cold calls during the deliberate season," said Dyer. "But Mike will take a digital image of something we have in the store and project a broadcast e-mail to customers. E-mail is a whole fresh option that we have, and we've gotten an amazing return"

nearest he tracked the business to discover in what manner much it cost the store to he open every minute of the day. With numbers in hand, the Walkers then reduc the hours of operation one as well as the other to reduce costs and to simplify explanations to customers.