Lots of important dates and news
It's been a challenging time and the landscape keeps changing. Sorry for the long read, but there is a lot to cover and we want to keep you informed about some important news.
Mark Your Calendars!
Shop Closed June 5 - June 16
The shop will be closed for in-person shopping, curbside pickups and shipping from June 5-June 16. Due to graduations and employee loss due to Covid (they are fine, just not in Kalamazoo) we are losing our fantastic part-timers. We are training a new team for the summer, but it's not fair to them to have them 100% responsible for the shop yet. And, frankly, I need to untether myself from the business for a short time to refuel and prepare for an interesting summer and fall season. Please plan ahead or wait until after June 16 to shop with us. I can still answer emails, voicemails and texts, but maybe not as quickly as usual.
Big Summer Sale
We are going to hold our Big Summer Sale the last two weeks in July. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that this will be the biggest sale yet. A lot of merchandise purchasing for our industry happens in February, so a lot of apparel still came during the pandemic. We are now overstocked and would like to share some amazing deals for you! Stay tuned for additional information as it develops.
There will be some great deals on a few brands and styles that didn't survive the crisis. We will say goodbye to them with thanks and share the good-deal-joy with you. The sale will be available for in-person shopping and online.
Loyalty Program
Another casualty of the pandemic was our inventory data platform. The company that housed our inventory data since 2016 was purchased by another company who decided to sunset the platform (which is a nice way to say they killed it). All product information is now safely housed somewhere else, but it does mean we have had to change our point-of-sale system and, therefore, our loyalty program.
We will have a new loyalty program launched soon. I can't promise it will look exactly the same as it did before, but it will be comparable. The good news, is that both in-store and online purchases will now go to the same system, so your loyalty bonuses will be easier to track.
If you would like me to transfer your current loyalty level to the new system, please let me know by replying to this email (I will need your name, email address and mobile phone number to make sure I can find you). Contact me by June 1 if you would like to transfer your loyalty stars.
Prepare for Dancewear Supply Disruptions
The dance industry is not immune to the global supply chain crisis. Many of our vendors are already reporting supply disruptions. Finished goods stuck in ports, raw materials in high demand (also often stuck in ports), businesses closing, etc. are all causing havoc and some dancewear brands are already backordered on popular items.
All of the financial support we have received from customer sales and a few small grants has gone into preparing The Station to be well-stocked when the dance shopping season picks up (one of my favorite fables as a child was the Grasshopper and the Ants and now I am living it). If you need specific items for your classes, please do not wait until September to get all of your dance gear.
Masks and Appointments
Bear with us as the new CDC guidelines were a big surprise to all businesses. Every few weeks in the past year has required a big change in how we are able to run our business. For now, we are continuing to require masks for in-person shopping. We are still doing appointments, but can accommodate walk-ins if our current appointment has left the shop. A lot of our guests are not eligible for the vaccine yet, and we want everyone to feel safe when shopping with us.
This summer, we expect to move to more regular hours, more walk-in shopping availability and, hopefully, less masking. If you want to make sure you can shop the way you want to, please reply to this message so that I can consider your voice as I make transition plans. Tell me what you need to make in-person shopping work for you.
Thank you!
Thanks to all of you for supporting this local independent business. Your support has made this crisis bearable in so many ways. We are in a good position to thrive this back-to-dance season and it would not have been possible without you.
All the best,
Jennifer, The Station