retail profiles // sexy // little black box

Store contact: Ginger Steele
Number of stores: 1
Location: Lewisburg, WV
Square footage: 1,329
Year opened: 2007

Amanda Torres, BODY: Describe your store, including physical description and key product categories.

Ginger Steele, Little Black Box: Little Black Box is a lingerie boutique located in historical Lewisburg, WV, a small town nestled in the Allegheny Mountains, which has been recognized as “one of the best small towns in America.” The boutique is located in a shopping center near a top brand box store along with several other shops catering to women’s needs. One of the shop’s primary philosophies is providing “lingerie for women of all sizes.” The store’s spacious 1,327 square feet is decorated with armoires and other home fixtures, giving the customer a unique, discrete and comfortable shopping experience.

A.T.: What makes your store special, and why do customer choose it over competing stores?

G.S.: Little Black Box specializes in customer service, building trust in its brand name through relationships with customers. The ambience created is a friendly and comfortable atmosphere. The shop offers a wide variety of intimate apparel, special orders and specializes in hard-to-find plus sizes. The shop also features a huge 8 foot by 10 foot dressing room with five mirrors.

A.T.: What brands are particularly important in your store, and why?

G.S.: Shirley of Hollywood, Coquette, Dreamgirl, Bali and Goddess because their merchandise is beautiful, affordable and available in plus sizes, making them important brands for us to carry.

A.T.: What price range and size range do you carry?

G.S.: Our lingerie starts at $20 while nicer corsets can be $100, our bras begin around $34, and panties are priced from $6 to $20, with sizes from S to 4X.

A.T.: Who is your customer base made up of?

G.S.: Females ages 18 through 45. A large percentage are new to lingerie, mostly full figured in sizes L and up. A typical customer may own three pieces of lingerie. Customer retention relies upon personal purchases and gift purchases. During the Valentine’s Day and Christmas seasons, the number of male shoppers increases.

A.T.: What other information about your store would you like to share with us?

G.S.: Our online social media advertising campaign includes a yearly lingerie model search competition. LBB’s MySpace has over 1,700 friends, nearly 150,000 page views and features in-store photography and a blog dealing with interesting women’s issues. A google search of the words “Little Black Box” indicates our
MySpace page at number three. An online store, LoveLBB.com, is currently being constructed. LBB also has Twitter and Facebook pages.