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A Look Inside Just Amazing
I envision Just Amazing as a boutique mall featuring an enclosed atrium or arcade that is surrounded by lots of other independent shops and restaurants as well as the aquarium, events center, etc. Just Amazing will be just one piece of a larger puzzle.
As a boutique mall, Just Amazing could house 30-50 boutiques depending upon the needs of the development and the available space. The boutiques would vary in size and include kiosks and seasonal pop ups.
Some of the boutiques will have fixed spaces while other boutiques will be clustered in large open spaces and be defined by movable walls and displays.
Each boutique will have its own personality. For example, Just Grilled might sport metallic displays in fiery colors like reds and yellows. Just Kids in the Kitchen could use bold primary colors and be laced with children's art. Just Bamboozled could include pots of real bamboo, etc. The goal is to make shoppers feel like each boutique is a separate entity!
"Wow, there's like 50 boutiques there! It's Amazing!
The boutiques and restaurants at Just Amazing can be owned entirely by Just Amazing, Inc. or can be a combination of corporate and independently owned businesses. Just Amazing should NOT include any chain stores or restaurants. If we fill the food court with Subways, Chick Filets and Starbucks then we loose one of our main marketing tools - our uniqueness.
All of the businesses located in the Just Amazing mall area whether corporate or independently owned would need to be under the Just Amazing umbrella and be named accordingly. While we want guests to feel that they are visiting 50 different boutiques we also want them to understand that Just Amazing is a boutique Mall - an anchor if you will.
The developers could set aside an area for small boutiques and fill it in with independently owned businesses and it might end up looking something like Just Amazing but it would not have the same PUNCH. Punta Gorda needs the WOW factor - it needs a shopping attraction. Having Just Amazing viewed in its entirety and as an anchor - is important in attracting other tenants to the development and in establishing Just Amazing's prominence in the community
Being "under the Just Umbrella" means that all the mall boutiques whether corporate owned or independent would use a common Point of Sale System. Because the geographic barriers of the boutiques will be blurred, its important that guests be able to move from one boutique to another without having to ringing up their purchases. (Much like a department store).
Valuable space can be saved by reducing the number of cash register stations. Providing staff with hand held credit card scanners would enable staff to ring up sales anywhere. Checkout stations near the exits could be used for cash sales.
I'd like to see a food court included in the boutique mall because I don't want shoppers to have to leave the building to find a bite to eat. We also need a commons area where people can gather and special events can be held.
The greatest challenge from a design point is making sure that Just Amazing maintains a fresh, clean and upscale appearance. It needs to have a trendy look and feel that you'd expect to find in a larger metropolitan area. It needs to be fun and playful and surprising and cutting edge. It should be packed with wonderful merchandise but it can't be cluttered. Products need to be merchandised in a boutique (not department store) fashion. If we are going to have the balls to name it "Just Amazing" we have to be 110% sure that it truly is JUST AMAZING!
Corporate Owned vs. Mixture of Corporate Owned & Independents
I realize there is more risk involved if all the boutiques and restaurants are corporate owned and that such an enterprise may seem overwhelming. But, I am confident that with the right team and sufficient resources it can be done.
Personally, I would prefer for it all to remain corporate owned. Here are some of the reasons why:
If all of the boutiques are corporate owned then you can stage all of the receiving and storage in one area (ideally on the second floor) freeing up valuable first floor space.
The boutiques that do sampling or sell prepared food like the cheese shop, the bake shop, the wine shop, the appetizer shop, etc. will all be required to have a three bay sink and proper refrigeration. If they are all corporate owned then we can cluster these boutiques together so they can share a common kitchen.
All of the food prep for the food court restaurants and baking for the boutiques could be done in one common kitchen (preferably upstairs). Dishwashing and storage areas can be shared.
Guest services could be provided for all the boutiques from one location - gift wrap, shipping, gift basket assembly, "bag check", lay away, on-line sales assistance, etc.
The Point of Sale System we use at Pies (Counter Point by Radiant) allows you us to create an on-line store that automatically integrates with the inventory in our POS system. If Just's boutiques were all corporate owned and using a common point of sale system then all the products we sell on site can be simultaneously available on-line.
Counter Point also allows you to work "in the clouds" so that you don't have to be on site to access the POS system. (That will be a real convenience when we open Just Amazing - Orlando and Just Amazing-Stockholm.)
Branding is critical and sometimes its the little things that mean the most. Picture frames might, for example, be sold at several boutiques. We would want all picture frames to display a Just Amazing insert. We'd want all the price labels to have Just Amazing logos imprinted on them, etc.
Personnel is another huge consideration. Blurring the geographic boundaries and opening the retail spaces up allows for a reduced number of sales associates - you don't need one sales clerk for each boutique. If some boutiques are independently owned it could be a problem. An owner or employee of an independent boutique is not going to want to assist a guests with corporate owned products and vice versa.
If all the boutiques are corporate owned then we don't have to worry about duplicating inventory. Face it, all the local business owners shop at the same gift shows and markets. While we all try hard to avoid it, you can often find things a Fishermen's Village that we sell at Pies & Plates. This could be a real problem if we have both corporate and independent boutiques. Someone is going to get their nose out of joint. If the boutiques were all corporate owned then our "team of buyers" would be able to coordinate their purchases to avoid duplication.
Along that same line, if a product doesn't sell in one boutique we can move to another where it might do better. If a boutique falls flat then we could incorporate at least some of it's merchandise into our other boutiques and put a different boutique in its place. In fact, it could happen over night so we'd never have to worry about vacancies of failing tenants.
In my mind, the greatest loss in not including independently owned boutiques is that independent owners are usually really passionate about their businesses. They put a great effort into maintaining their shops and sourcing the best merchandise. Independent owners would bring a lot of creativity and fresh ideas that would help to keep Just Amazing exciting. It's hard not to become "corporate" when you are all corporate. So, it will be really important to have the right people on our team and to keep them motivated.
One of the things that people enjoy about Pies & Plates is that there is always something new. We are constantly bringing in new products and changing the look of the store. If all the boutiques are corporate owned we can make sure this happen.
Similary, if all the boutiques are corporate owned we can control the quality of the merchandise being offered and how it is being displayed. All the boutiques need to be on par with each other and they all need to be amazing. | 
