Flourishing Fashionistas

Practically as long as she can remember, Terri Jackson has been a fashionista. She started modeling at age 8 and won best-dressed in high school. She followed her passion as a fashion merchandise major in college, and graduated to working as an assistant manager of a department store.

After her kids got older, it was a natural progression for Jackson to open a fashion and accessory showroom, Just The Thing, in High Point, NC, in 1991. It didn’t take long for Jackson’s daughter, Tracy Wright, to catch the bug, too. Wright worked part-time at the seasonal store while in college. Jackson then opened a second location, in Columbia, SC, in 2002, after her daughter graduated and moved there with her husband. After great urging from customers, the duo has opened additional stores in Georgia: in Atlanta, in 2003, and in Athens, in 2007. Jackson remains owner of the business and directly oversees the Atlanta shop, while Wright is vice president and works primarily at the Columbia store. They also have about eight part-time employees for each shop, and a full-time manager in Athens. The original store in North Carolina is open only one month a year.

The stores range from 1,400 to 3,000 square feet, and each has its own identity. At the same time, the women have developed a consistent brand image by unifying each store through a playful yet elegant color scheme of black and white stripes, with pink and gold accents for everything from the doorway awnings to the shopping bags. Mother and daughter recently adopted Shih Tzu puppies, and the two dogs are often featured in Just The Thing advertising. One dog greets customers in Columbia, and the other in Atlanta.

Jackson describes the shops as “girly girl stores” with products that appeal to females from “three to 83.” The women buy most of their products at Atlanta gift shows, and in New York City. Making bulk purchases for all of the stores gives the women buying power. Many vendors are amenable to splitting shipments, which simplifies product distribution.

They focus their purchases on items that are on trend, which they can sell at affordable prices. In addition to fashion accessories, they carry an assortment of products and gift items, such as beach towels, shower wraps, lamps, pillows, tote bags and picture frames. There is a special case in each store for more expensive designer handbags and jewelry.

Both women agree that one of the keys to success is communication. “We talk at least 10 times each day,” says Jackson. “We respect each other’s opinions and that’s important, or we couldn’t do this. We also appreciate each other’s moods, and agree to disagree at times.” Having a great staff helps too, says Wright. “That makes or breaks a business. You can’t do it all and need to rely on people who care about you and your business. We have that good fortune.”

Q&A

Advantages of working with each other
“I love being with her and traveling with her,” says Tracy Wright. “It’s so nice relying on someone who cares about the business as much as you do.”

“We can start and end each other’s sentences. We respect each other and we are the best of friends,” says Terri Jackson.

What are the annoyances?
We could work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we need to remind ourselves to have mother-daughter time, says Wright.

Mollie Neal

Neal writes about market trends, demographics and advertising issues for a variety of business and consumer publications. She can be reached at mneal@optonline.net.