Feb 7, 2011

Owner displays gift for retailBy Max ShowalterJCOnline.com

Before she opened a gift shop in West Lafayette in 2004, Gretel Kulupka earned a degree in electrical technology at Purdue University and held a variety of jobs.

But the retail trade is what motivates the owner of Gretel’s Fine Gifts in the College Park Center off Sagamore Parkway West.

“It’s a judgment call, knowing your customers and what price point will fly,” she said. “There are people who want high-end wedding gifts and those who want $5 gifts, so we have a selection. The largest number of gift requests we get are between $20 and $30, so that’s the area where we are pretty strong.”

Last summer, Kulupka moved a few doors down in College Park Center and doubled the size of her store.

Gretel’s Fine Gifts has been named the Small Business of the Month for February by Greater Lafayette Commerce. Kulupka has four full-time employees and 10 seasonal workers.

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