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You think you’re planning for the future – BUT…

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Sept. 12, 2016

I oversaw deCordova’s museum store for many, many years – and then, a few years ago, I took over as the new Deputy Director for Operations. The Store (and other revenue and operational departments) are under my supervision – and I am incredibly fortunate to have very talented professionals at the helm of each division.

And then of course – change happens….

Many of us see our lives through the lens of work – but life itself contains so many uncontrollable elements that we cannot anticipate. I had a very stable staff in place for some time, and then I was faced with some large-ish gaps and shifting responsibilities. People move on, retire, move away…and the best and safest option is to plan for change. But do we??

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Seeking Your Unique Content for MSA Blogs!

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August 29, 2016

MSA is seeking content for our weekly blog, and we hope you are interested in sharing your skills and experiences with the MSA community. MSA knows that our members and friends have interesting, personal, and relevant material that our community would find useful. Our most recent blog posts, by MSA members Barbara Lenhardt, Julie Steiner, David Duddy, Blue Anderson, Chris Michel, Stacey Stachow and Pam Edwards, proved us right. We also revamped the MSA blog to include a photo of the MSA blogger’s business and an image of the author to personalize the post.

We are eager to see more blog posts from respected museum store industry leaders – store operators, vendors and business partners – such as you.
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Insights on a New Museum Store as Part of a Major Museum Expansion

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August 22, 2016

Is your institution considering a new store or store re-model? There are countless decisions that go into executing the design of a new museum store. Whether managing critical conversations with administrators and architects, or grasping the key issues and facts to consider when assessing a significant change in a store’s design and layout, careful planning is your key to success.

It has been almost a year since we completed a 50,000 foot new wing at the Columbus Museum of Art which includes our new 2,000 sq. ft. Museum Store. Below is a briefing on our process and some of the early results.

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Updating Job Descriptions for your Store Employees

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August 15, 2016

We all have job descriptions but how often do you update them? Last month I was tasked with updating the job deceptions for the Museum Shop employees. They have not officially been updated since 2011. A lot has changed in the Museum since 2011 and our staffing is much smaller while our rolls have expanded. With that in mind, I am fascinated by larger museums that have buyers for different categories of the store, multiple managers, warehouse people and merchandisers. We have two categories of employees, a Museum Shop Associate (basically the assistant manager) and Museum Shop Sales Assistants. Our job descriptions have four sections; the position purpose, responsibilities, qualifications and working conditions.
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By the Numbers

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August 8, 2016

As museum store professionals, we are always concerned with the age-old question, how am I doing? While there are several ways to approach a real answer to that question, the purpose of this article is to discuss Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s). The most recent edition of the Museum Store Association Retail Industry Report offers some great comparatives on many financial categories. This is a great place to start, as you determine exactly where you stand.
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Merchandise Themes for a Focused Museum Store

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August 1, 2016

Museum Stores in the 21st Century reflect their times as assertively as they do their disciplines.   The dynamic ways your store can propel your institution’s energy and heritage in the marketplace will be evident in a finely focused merchandise assortment.  Supported by key factors including customer service, ambiance, merchandising and signage, your carefully curated merchandise selection contributes to making your store a unique, valued, and essential destination for partisans of your institution and beyond. An excellent way to focus your product assortment is to develop clear merchandise themes.
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Building and Defining a Retail Culture

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July 25, 2016

Culture is intangible. It’s hard to define, it’s difficult to understand, and yet it shapes behavior and structure of an organization. The word “culture” comes from the Latin word “colere” which means to tend to the earth and grow, or cultivate and nurture. Everyone belongs to multiple cultures. You have a work culture, a culture you grew up in, a culture with friends, and with volunteer organizations. But have you ever thought about defining one for your retail operation? And why do you want to do such a thing? Because culture shapes behavior and because that behavior can be changed.
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Embracing the Ordinary

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July 18, 2016

In a recent interview for a possible article for the Museum Store Magazine, I was asked about the importance of providing an excellent customer experience during the holiday season.  Yawn.  Was I about to write another blur of words regurgitated by almost every retail store about how they give “outstanding customer service” by offering up what almost every other retail store does?  When “everyone” is doing it, it makes it rather ordinary, I thought.
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Invent An Event!

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July 11, 2016

In these days of a million competing offers from stores and the web, it is vital to create some “buzz” around your business – and one enticing and direct way to do that is by crafting events that (1) target your customer, (2) dovetail with your institution’s vision, (3) “raise the profile” of your store – and (4) add to that all-important revenue stream.
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Museum Store Memories and Mementos

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June 27, 2016

My staff regularly discusses the mission of our museum store, and the way our products create a lifelong link to the visitor’s experience in our museums, and their memories of that day. We find, sometimes to our own wonder, that many of those experiences hold deep meaning and significance decades after a museum visit, and it’s fun to revisit those memories again as professionals in the industry.
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