April 10, 2017 By Stuart Hata Can you imagine a world filled with gorgeous, unique and educational museum stores that are wildly successful, beloved and valued by our institutions and general public alike? A world where customers and fans flock to nonprofit retail enterprises, knowing that their patronage will support and ensure the world’s cultural […]
April 3, 2017 By Nancy Sanders Selling art supplies might be a given for fine art museum shops, but all sorts of museum shops should consider adding this product category to their sales plan assortments. People of all ages can use some extra creativity in their lives, and activities that encourage drawing, painting and photography […]
March 27, 2017 By Michael Silverman What does success look like for your museum? Is it setting and attaining a sales goal, increasing store traffic, selling out inventory, all of the above? At the Oakland Museum of California, it looks like our fall exhibition, “All Power to the People: The Black Panthers at 50.” The […]
March 20, 2017 By Blue Anderson MSA vendors are superior. I doubt I’ll get much pushback on that statement from this MSA-loving readership. But, there is nothing like a cold-call from a non-member rep to make you wish all of your vendors were MSA Superior. An unknown, but seasoned, sales pro stopped by my store […]
March 13, 2017 By Laura Murphy For about 25 years, I have been buying merchandise for the Newport Mansions stores. But when Cynthia O’Malley, our Director of Retail, brought me to Ambiente in Frankfurt eight years ago, my buying experience was changed forever. Suddenly, I could buy direct from manufactures, design our own product and […]
March 6, 2017 By Eleanor Harper-Dutt “How many?” “Um, four of that one. And this one too—four, please.” “OK, what else?” “Uh, this one here. Can we do six of these?” I had a scalloped brass necklace clutched in my hand while I scanned over the rest of the jewelry on the display table. I […]
February 27, 2017 The Preservation Society of Newport County in Newport, Rhode Island, is an organization of historic house museums, including The Breakers, Marble House, the Elms, Rosecliff and others. The retail team at Newport Mansions operates six stores, a website, and a warehouse/distribution center in Newport. Bringing in more than $3.6 million last year, […]
February 13, 2017 By Julie Steiner Recently I’ve observed how many of the various fields represented within our museums, apart from museum stores, are represented by their own professional associations. Our directors belong to various museum directors’ organizations, like the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) and others. Our HR staffs belong to the Society […]
February 6, 2017 By Blue Anderson Winter can be a time when we relish comfort from the elements with whatever we are most familiar—comfort foods, comfortably warm and toasty fires in the hearth, Southern Comfort. It is also a quiet time for many retail stores. Inventory is done and major holidays are tucked away—and we […]
January 30, 2017 By Allison Ebner It happens to everyone: You’re looking at something on paper and everything makes sense. Then, when you finally get to see it in action, you’re met with an overwhelming sense of clarity. You didn’t even know something was missing, and yet, everything you’ve been working on makes even more […]
