One U.P. store, unlike many retailers, is seeing growth during a time of economic woes.
MARQUETTE -- Although Boris Martysz purchased a suit during a shopping trip to Getz’s Department Store recently, that's not usually what he looks for when he visits.
"Anytime that my family and I need clothing, shoes, outdoor gear, ski pants, ski jackets, this is the place that we come to,” said the Marquette resident.
While Martysz can walk in to buy outdoor and workwear brands like Northface and Carhartt at anytime, Getz’s store manager Dennis Mingay recognized early on that not everyone could. A solution eventually came to him from an Internet seminar he attended 12 years ago.
"I came back thinking we can do this,” replied Mingay. “And the next day a call was made to Carhartt to see if we could move forward to go on the World Wide Web."
Today, Getz's online store ships to customers nationwide. These sales now make up 80 percent of this retailer’s profits and have grown 25 to 35 percent every year since 2003.
"We do many different things,” explained John Spigarelli, Getz’s Vice President of Marketing and E-Commerce. “It's a combination of paid advertising, some placement advertising, links from partners, links from other Web sites, national search listings. It's a mixed tool box of traffic driving."
Spigarelli foresees their Web site expanding even more in 2009, but says they've instituted measures to combat the worsening economy. "We've curtailed some of our ordering. We want to make sure that we keep our inventories in check as much as possible. There's no need for us to be over inventoried in a time like this."
But for customers like Martysz, it's not Getz's aggressive online marketing strategy or the niche product lines they offer that keeps them coming back; it's simply the great customer service.
"I've been coming here since I was a little kid," laughed Martysz. "The attention to detail and personal service that they give you is certainly unmatched."
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