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12022008 Abrash Gallery Thrives on Eclectic Merchandising, Fun Promotions and No-Sale Policy

By Denise Gallaghr
12/2/2008

CLEVELAND'S ABRASH GALLERY THRIVES WITH ECLECTIC MERCHANDISING, FUN PROMOTIONS AND 'NO-SALE' POLICY

Tuba Gokoglu, owner of Abrash Gallery

By Denise Gallagher

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH. – Although "Abrash" is a term that most people in the rug world associate with fine weavings, rugs are not the entire story at Tuba Gokoglu's Abrash gallery here. The store is thriving as a result of  multiple-category merchandising, unique promotional activity and a "no-sale" policy.

Two years ago, Gokoglu opened the store in this demographically mixed neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland. Feeling that ”location, location“ is the clue to a successful business, she transformed the 1800's era building, across from a popular art movie theatre, into a setting for Oriental style rugs.

Colorful window displays show off the eclectic merchandise mix which includes hand-blown glass, works from local artists, lamps, silk screens and even bead jewelry draw movie-goers and neighborhood shoppers into her store.

Big ticket rugs, however, are the major part of her business and her business philosophy centers around “the need to create a place to stop by and browse - possibly buy a gift and then focus on our selection of fabulous rugs.”

In this continually tight economic climate,  she uses her 10 years of  corporate experience in retail banking to temper the tough times. “Every downturn has an upturn” Gokoglu said.

Advertising, she has learned, is only one method of reaching potential customers.  Despite an initial grand opening ad in Architectural Digest, paired with one of her top brand names, Woven Legends, that netted a $30,00 rug sale to a customer in Canada, she is convinced that advertising may not be the best answer right now.

 â€œOur first year was great and that sale was astounding. The rug took a year to finish, weighed 300 lbs and was a great beginning,” she said.

Currently she is concentrating on networking and working with local groups, even the movie theatre across the street, to drive business.

 

 â€œThe Cleveland area has a great number of  beautiful, traditional homes and their owners understand  our  merchandise," she pointed out. "To capitalize on this we’ve tapped into groups like The Cleveland Rug Society, Case Western Reserve University Alumni and the Cleveland Museum of Art to introduce our merchandise mix.

One of the most successful in- store event was a spontaneous Tango Party, she said. The party erupted after a special Tango presentation at the nearby  Museum of Art, where the crowd wanted to keep on dancing and she offered the gallery as an after hours chance to continue the fun.

“It was fabulous,” Gokoglu recalls. “Events like this may not result in sales next week, but they put Abrash in the public eye with customers who matter."

Being across the street from the Cedar Lee Theatre is an unexpected boon for her store. Tie-ins with Film Festivals, including wine receptions before or after the show bring in local customers. Tea parties and “Soup Sundays” in the Fall when she offers large pots of home made soup for friends and potential customers  also create excitement on the busy corner where Abrash is located.

Gokoglu is a big believer in in-home service. "An independent owner is more important than a mall store to our customer base,” she explained. "A lot of people need guidance for color or design and we offer this as well as doing measurements in the home and consultation on the best type of rug to fit our customer’s needs.”

Abrash customers are looking for merchandise that is a little bit different than everyone else's, Gokoglu noted, and she stressed that she adheres to a  no-sale policy. “I think sale signs  are tacky,” she said, and they take away from a fairly-priced high-end image..

Managingn inventory involves a lot of business discipline.“Turnover is my goal. You don’t have to have  millions of dollars worth of inventory. Smart, wise buying is the way to go. I try to avoid buying too much,” she said.

Abrash stocks a wide range of rugs with emphasis on all-over designs and not many traditional center medallion or florals. “I hand-pick every piece and the designs speak for themselves,” she noted. Prices are upper-end with a typical 10 x 14 rug in the $7,000 range. Custom designs can be developed from a variety of catalogues.


Abrash Gallery interior

The Abrashgallery is eye-catching both inside and out. The walls of the high-ceilinged very old building are covered with brightly colored rugs,  miniature room settings, and fashion mannequins make up the store's  personality. 

Brands such as Woven Legends, New Moon, Zollanvari, Antique Looms and  I.M. International are featured.

  “I don’t want to be huge,” Gokoglu said, “It’s nice to have a specialty niche. A huge store and inventory takes a lot to support. Designs and tastes change. We find new, fresh rugs and bring them in and keep the inventory flexible.  That’s important in this economy.”

12.02.08


ED NOTE: Denise Gallagher is a  Florida-based free-lance writer who frequently covers the home furnishings industry.
 


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