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All things Colonial selling very well

By Bill Tolbert

September 6, 2005

The Design Studio is an integral part of the products division. (Photo courtesy Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)

One of the bright spots in the 2004 annual report by Colonial Williamsburg was news that the products division had "increased its contributions" to the foundation.

Williamsburg At Home is the flagship store on Merchants Square.
Photos courtesy Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

The numbers are closely held for competitive reasons, but 25,000 things colonial seem to sell well if they're marketed creatively. Unlike hotels or ticket sales, retail sales are booming.

The division beat its budget "by controlling expenses and increasing direct marketing and licensing revenue."

A proud Jim Easton, vice president for products, talked recently about the success, which has continued into this year.

The products division has four main components:

Retail stores There are 24 in Williamsburg, including 11 in the Historic Area. Sales are doing well, particularly in the Historic Area, despite the fact that visitation has been sluggish.
Design studio. Designers have worked on everything from ski homes in Aspen to townhouses along chic Michigan Avenue in Chicago to homes in the Historic Triangle, and business is up 50 percent this year.
Direct marketing, catalog, Internet. This segment has grown every year recently and is currently running 50 percent ahead of last year.
Licensing. Colonial Williamsburg has almost 60 companies manufacturing products that carry the Williamsburg name, with five new ones added this year.

"Talking about our successes is a fun thing to do," Easton said. "Two of them, direct marketing and licensing, are less dependent on visitation to Williamsburg. They allow us to sell products nationwide, and that talks to the strength of the brand and the product itself that the national business has been very strong. Those have been the businesses the last couple of years that have been strong, although retail has also been very strong."

Two retail stores opened last year in Merchants Square. In March, Williamsburg Celebrations opened to offer collectibles and garden accessories in the space formerly occupied by Williamsburg Pure Simple Today.

In June, Williamsburg At Home opened in the new College Corner Building. That store followed the closing of the Craft House at the Williamsburg Inn, and it offers the familiar furniture, fabrics and other items for the home.

"Both have been very successful," Easton said. "We've gotten a lot of great feedback from both locals and out-of-town guests. So they have been two real bright spots."

Easton also is pleased with the stores that operate in the Historic Area. "This summer, for the last two or three months, those stores have been performing very strongly, showing nice increases versus last year and versus budget."

Easton believes most shoppers at the Historic Area stores are visitors from out of town, while the Merchants Square stores skew more to locals.

"The business in these stores (in the Historic Area) has been a little tougher the last few years," he said. "So that renewed strength is exciting to see."

One sales idea that has proved popular is holding auctions, including special evening auctions, in the Historic Area. Colonial Williamsburg advertises the auctions locally, and "they've been terrific in bringing locals in for special products."

Items sold in the auctions run the gamut, Easton noted. One auction focused on items from the trades shops such as unfinished or extra items that weren't appropriate for the stores. Another auction focused on museum items not from the collection but display items and props used in the museums.

An auction from the hotels and taverns included surplus dinnerware, plates and glassware.

"These are extra items that aren't new and we don't sell in our stores," he said. "We also sold some old tavern signs and shop signs, things that have meaning for some people."

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