It’s been a little over a year since Vinnie’s Styles won MR’s Uptown/Downtown Award; (read the article here) so we wanted to catch up with co-owners and brothers Jacob, Desta and P Parris. The Brooklyn store is not only surviving tough times—they are expanding to other markets. We sat down with Jacob to find out what’s new in the neighborhood.
Vinnie’s Styles co-owners Jacob Parris and P Parris.
MR: What’s been keeping you busy this past year?
Jacob: We are in the process of opening Vinnie’s Styles in Atlanta. It should be open at the end of September. Atlanta is starting to come up musically and style is to follow music, so the time is now.
Why did you choose Atlanta?
A lot of our customers moved down there and they’ve been asking for it, especially our in-house Paulies brand [which is evolving from t-shirts to cut and sew pieces like varsity jackets and leather.] They are shopping online but they want us to be closer. We’re going to come with the Vinnie’s formula—custom lifestyle mixed with street.
How much is online a part of your business?
[Online sales] are about 30 percent of our total business. But we just put up a blog on the website and we’re sending out newsletters. We’re in the process of revamping the site.
It’s a Wednesday afternoon and you have great traffic in here. Are you guys feeling the pinch?
We do see a difference but now is the best time to listen to our customers. We are offering more sales and promotions, for example the 30th customer to walk in [on a particular day] will receive a discount or a promotional t-shirt. Customers will pass on the word and more people will come in. Back to School has been promising. We had a “mother’s day” sale where moms came in to buy their kids denim for school.
Are you doing any non-denim business in pants?
We are phasing it in with shorts and cargos. Like Prps, they do a good military pant.
What’s selling now?
Polo Ralph Lauren knits ($225 to $325 retail), Nike sneakers ($120) and Supra sneakers ($160).
Do you have any plans to expand in New York?
This area still needs to develop and needs more destination shops. We’re planning to open a higher-end store for spring 2009. We’ll carry brands like Ralph Lauren, Custo Barcelona and some tailored clothing.
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