Hitting the road together

Sibling business owners Bob and Lynn Mitchell don’t get to see each other too much during the summer months; Bob is busy running Mrs. Mitchell’s Gifts in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, while Lynn has her two stores, Mrs. Mitchell’s and Mrs. M’s Summer House to manage two hours away in Hyannis, Massachusetts.

But once fall rolls around, the pair hit the road together, attending big buying shows such as The Smoky Mountain Gift Show in Gatlinburg, Tennessee; the Grand Strand Gift and Resort Show in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Surf Expo in Orlando, Florida; and AmericasMart in Atlanta. They also attend shows that specialize in New England-made products.

It is also a chance to see old friends, many of whom are also owners of multigenerational stores.
“We’ve been going to shows for so long that we kind of have it down to an inexact science,” says Bob of his and Lynn’s buying approach. “We try to be organized and figure out what we want ahead of time. But when we get to the shows, we might see something that changes our minds.”

Purchasing is based on what items sold well the previous season, but Bob also asks himself some questions as he looks around: What are the trends? Do I think it will work for us? Would our customers like it? Would they buy it?

“A lot of the decision process is going over the numbers, but a lot of it is your gut feeling too,” Bob says.
Occasionally Lynn and Bob will go in together on a bulk order, but generally, they tend to keep their respective stores’ books separate.

“It’s one corporation, but I run mine as my own entity and he runs his as his own entity,” says Lynn.