Leon & Lulu

Independent retail is tough anywhere, but opening a 15,000-square-foot store just outside Detroit was considered downright foolish when Mary Liz Curtin and her husband, Stephen Scannell, launched their business in a small suburb of Detroit on April 1, 2006.

Leon & Lulu is a lifestyle store in Clawson, just outside of Detroit, selling furniture, accessories, clothing and unique gifts in a friendly and fun atmosphere. Located in the historic Ambassador Roller Rink, Leon & Lulu provides a unique shopping experience. Leon & Lulu is serious about good design, fabulous service and great pricing -- but it has a sense of humor about everything else.

Clawson, Mich., is hardly a retail hot spot. As Curtin and Scannell searched for a building large enough for a furniture store and within their reach financially, they decided the old adage "location, location, location" would be better updated to "parking, parking, parking." So they looked for a place that would be easily accessible to anyone in the metropolitan Detroit area and had both proprietary and municipal parking. When they found a roller skating rink for sale, with fabulous floors, 15,000 square feet of space, and a long and happy history, they knew they had found the right place for Leon & Lulu. (The store was named for their now-deceased pets, the cat Leon Redbone Jones and Rottweiler Lucille (Lulu) McGillicuddy)

Visiting the store is meant to be a fun experience. There's always a cup of coffee waiting for you, served in a real mug. On weekends and at special events -- and in keeping with the shop's roller rink origins -- the store's Skillful Skating Waiters serve hot cookies and popcorn to guests while on skates. Not to be outdone, Spot the dog is always on hand to greet visitors.

"We do not track conversion rates," Curtin says. "If shoppers have a great time visiting us, they will come back when they are ready to buy." That philosophy extends to the product assortment, with prices starting at 75 cents for a finger monster and going up to thousands of dollars for pieces of furniture. "We try to have something for every shopper to buy, regardless of age or budget," says Curtin.

The biggest challenge for the shopkeepers was marketing the store on a very small budget. "We put every nickel we had into the property, the build-out and the opening inventory," Curtin says. "Our marketing and promotion had to be inexpensive and unusual." Most of the store's promotion budget goes into cause-related marketing, supporting a wide range of local charities. Last year the store had 65 special events, 54 benefitting charities, which brought customers from all over the area. 

"When we opened the store we had 263 names on our mailing list. Now we have more than 11,000, thanks to our charity outreach," Curtin says. Leon & Lulu is designed for parties, with comfortable vignettes for seating, lots of dining tables and plenty of room for guests -- plus lots of parking. In addition to fairly straightforward fundraisers with catered food, music and raffles, Leon & Lulu has had blood drives, a pet adoption (nine dogs and three cats recently found homes), a pinewood derby with a 50-foot racetrack for the cars, and a celebrity auction featuring 50 decorated toilet seats.

"We are willing to try almost anything to raise money for a good cause, expand our reach and make new friends," Curtin says. "If an event works, we repeat it. If it does not work, we chalk it up to experience and move on. Fortunately, there have been very few flops."

The store also has two signature events, The Artists' Market and Books & Authors. The Artists' Market is a juried show offering local craftspeople an opportunity to sell their work in the store. There is no charge for exhibiting in the two-day event, which is held four times a year. While the store does charge a gallery fee for any items sold, it is an inexpensive way for craftspeople to show their work. The market exhibits about 35 artists and draws more than 1,000 shoppers each time. The event benefits Cass Community Services, serving the homeless population in Detroit. "We carry lots of handmade product and American-made product, and have supported the artistic community since we opened," Curtin says.

Books & Authors is held annually, with about 50 Michigan authors showing their books. This event benefits The Gift of Reading, an initiative by the Detroit Free Press to provide 25,000 books to children in Detroit.

Curtin does most of the buying for the shop, visiting numerous domestic and international trade shows to find products for the many categories the store covers. "We look for good design, excellent pricing and unusual items. I absolutely love looking for new merchandise and adore going to trade shows, working with craftspeople and digging around for new products to delight our customers," Curtin says. "No matter how great the store looks or how generous the donations are, good product is the key to retail success."

While humor and fun are key components of Leon & Lulu's success, these store owners are serious about their business, so they are careful to keep their margins strong and expenses low. "We have been profitable since our fourth month in business, and that money has gone right back into the store," Curtain says. They watch cash flow carefully, pay bills on time and pinch their pennies. "Careful management is as important as strong sales for a successful business of any kind," Curtin says. "It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operations and lose track of the nickels and dimes that are being wasted."

There are no plans for a second store or franchising the concept, but Leon & Lulu's online store has just launched. "Building a virtual store is just as much work as opening a real store," says Curtin. "We are working hard to make the online experience as much fun as in-store shopping."

Saverio Mancina owns a Marketing & Communications firm. Leon & Lulu is one of his clients and also a favorite place to shop.