{"id":5392,"date":"2021-04-29T13:09:32","date_gmt":"2021-04-29T13:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=5392"},"modified":"2023-06-14T14:55:31","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T14:55:31","slug":"boutique-furniture-store-with-loyal-following-powers-through-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/04\/29\/boutique-furniture-store-with-loyal-following-powers-through-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Boutique furniture store with loyal following powers through the pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"
Business has returned to normal for the boutique furniture store Vintage Home South<\/a>. But when the pandemic struck in March 2020, owners Jennifer and Rich Devlin were not sure their Ninth Street store would survive the month.<\/p>\n January and February 2020 had been their best start to a year since they opened their doors in 2016. So a 50% drop in revenue in April, their second-worst month ever, hit hard.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re thinking, \u2018Holy crap! What are we going to do and how long is this going to go on?\u2019\u201d Rich Devlin recalled.<\/p>\n They had cash to survive four months only. If that ran out, they would consider selling rather than going into credit card debt, as they had done to get started.<\/p>\n It would take decisive action to stay afloat in the \u201crefined casual\u201d furniture business. A ramped-up focus on customer service and sharp upticks in the housing and home d\u00e9cor markets have done it for them \u2013 so far.<\/p>\n Last spring, as soon as they could leave their house, \u201cwe would go to the store five or six days a week and go, \u2018Okay, what are we going to do to make money today?\u2019\u201d Jennifer Devlin said.<\/p>\n Mary Moyer, the shop\u2019s only full-time employee, saw the Devlins\u2019 drive. \u201cThey weren\u2019t gonna sit around and see what COVID had in store,\u201d Moyer said. \u201cThey got busy, and they did a website.\u201d The new online shopping site attracted new customers from all over the country and now contributes 5% of total revenue.<\/p>\n The Devlins also started making Instagram videos. There were instructional furniture videos, such as \u201cWall D\u00e9cor Hanging 101<\/a>.\u201d Others were light-hearted; one of them featured their one-take singing<\/a> to announce the website launch, with Rich playing guitar and their dog sitting on Jennifer\u2019s lap. Old and new customers watched.<\/p>\n