Saturday, July 28, 2007


Jul. 28, 2007 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
Starting a business is never easy, but so far Melissa Morris has had more setbacks than usual.

Her Edmond boutique, Miss Milan's, was ransacked in April just before it opened. The thief made off with about $80,000 in merchandise, she said.

Since then, Morris has been feverishly working to restock it. The store opened last week.

'I've had to deal with my reps over the phone, look at line sheets on the computer and try to get what was left of summer,' she said.

Despite a smaller summer selection, Morris is optimistic. She's looking forward to fall and putting a slow start behind her.

'We've got a lot of merchandise coming in. It's being shipped every week. We're going to be going to market in Vegas. This is the biggest market. It's the creme de la creme.'

Miss Milan's, 17200 N May Ave., borders a rapidly-growing area of Oklahoma City. 'It's such a growing area. We're really excited about being here,' she said. 'There are a lot of young professionals.'

Morris expects Miss Milan's to draw shoppers of all ages from throughout the metro area. The market for upscale apparel is also growing, she said. Boutiques like Miss Milan's are often the fashion shopper's answer to Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom's.

'We don't have stores like that here, so lots of women go from boutique to boutique to boutique,' she said. 'If you're a boutique shopper, you're going to find something unique here.'

The store carries nine lines that are exclusive to Miss Milan's in the Oklahoma City market, and Morris plans to pick up more next month at the Las Vegas market, she said.

'We sell a new line of dresses from Brazil that are just phenomenal. Neiman carries them,' she said. 'We have David Kahn jeans for women, Fidelity and Miss Me's, which are our good price point jeans.'

Premium denim for both men and women makes up a large portion of the store's product mix. Prices vary from $90-$300.

'One of my reps was telling me, 'Gosh, Oklahoma, every time I turn around there's another boutique opening up,'' she said. 'But we're all kind of spread out.'

'You can get high-end retail in Oklahoma City, you just sometimes have to drive a great distance to get it, even within the city boundaries, because we're 621 square miles,' said Alison Oshel, community redevelopment director for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce.

Oshel, the city's retail recruiter, said there's a definite market for upscale apparel and other luxury goods.

'The NBA story is a good way to tell that story,' she said. 'We didn't meet the NBA's population density or even household income averages for cities who support NBA teams, but yet they come here, and now we're a top-10 NBA team, after hosting the Hornets for two years.'

Pockets of success stories indicate that Oklahoma City residents want and would take advantage of additional upscale retail, Oshel said.

'I think there is a luxury market in Oklahoma City. In downtown, Teena Hicks Co. is an upscale men's clothing store. She's on the second floor, no windows, which is just adverse to retail success stories, yet she's been there for a number of years, and she does a great business.'

Newstex ID: KRTB-0148-18488265


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