LI Network Makes Rival Shop Owners Friends
Long Island, NY – Trusted business advice is hard to come by, but much to gift shop owner Kerry Punzi’s surprise, she has found a wealth of it from an unlikely source: potential competitors.
“I didn’t even realize that other retailers would want to talk to me,” said Punzi, owner of Giftology and The Cook’s Fancy, both in Rockville Centre.
About a year and a half ago, a group of gift shop owners and managers came together to brainstorm about the effects of Vera Bradley — one of their most popular brands — opening its own retail stores and launching an online retail site.
About eight people, including Punzi, attended that meeting and another one a year later. Ideas were exchanged. But the true benefit for several participants was a trusted network of retail merchants that evolved.
