MANSFIELD, Ohio—What bride-to-be is going to head out to Ohio’s farmland to shop for her wedding dress? Haven’t business developers always preached, “Location, location, location?”
Well, it seems consumers will make their way to out-of-the-way places—for the right reason. At least that’s what Jan Kuhn of Kuhn’s Bridal & Formal Outlet at 703 Taylortown Road, north of Mansfield, has found. Women travel from around the state and out of state to shop for bridal and formal gowns at Kuhn’s store.
“For me, the location hasn’t been a problem; it’s offering the product at a price that is affordable and I think a lot of it is my staff. If you look at reviews, all the time people are talking about Kay–or how friendly we are,” said Kuhn. “We’re no pressure. If we don’t have your dress, somebody else will. We don’t put down other stores; that’s not our thing to do.
“That’s not your normal competitive-driven business to do that. I just figure my stock will be speak for itself and my price speaks for itself. If you’re the girl who can afford a $2-3,000 dress, it’s that gown you’re looking for.”
Customers visit the store from all over the state and some from other parts of the U.S.
“They come from Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton, all over,” said Kuhn. “We had a bride come from Dayton and she loved it so much, when her sister got engaged she came up. It surprises us how far people will come.”
High school girls from local schools, but also from out-of-state, shop for prom dresses at Kuhn’s. One girl came from Indiana because an Ohio customer moved to Indiana and she started telling her friends there about the dresses at Kuhn’s.
“We have a little girl from Georgia. They come for vacation up here and they always shop here. Family brought them here and they love it. So now they come up when they’re on vacation. We’ve also had people from Tennessee and Pennsylvania. It really shocks us.” Kuhn said.
Internet, billboards, and word of mouth have delivered the most of her business. Kuhn said she gets a lot of referrals and people Google-search everything.
In February she had sold 34 gowns since the first of January. That’s “a lot” Kuhn said, compared to what they used to sell at the beginning of the bridal season, and doesn’t include prom gowns.
Until November of 2014, the bridal store was also known for Kuhn’s costume rental. Costumes were a natural creation and product-line for Crestview High School’s drama teacher and coach. But sometimes businesses adapt to the needs or demands of the consumers.
In this case, Kuhn decided to take a calculated risk and narrowed her divided attention to focus on one product—bridal wear. After renting and selling costumes for 35 years (since 1979), Jan Kuhn closed the lid on the costumes in November 2014 to focus on her bridal wear.
“We do everything formal,” added Kuhn, “I don’t charge as much as I could be charging but we make up for it in volume. Right now we have over 2,763 gowns in stock and more on the way.”
And Kuhn has reinvested some of her profit from the costume shop to turn Kuhn’s Bridal and Formal Outlet into more of a chic shop for her customers. Upgrades include $10,000 in carpet, new lighting, new signage and landscaping outside. Inside, the dressing rooms are more spacious and there’s an area for men to wait.
“I’m not a good business person,” said Kuhn. “This has always been my theory, ‘I started with nothing. What’s the worst that could happen? I would end with nothing.’ As long as you don’t go in debt, that’s the worst that can happen, right? That was my theory when I started business but I have to be honest, once you start making profit, sometimes you have to be careful that greed doesn’t overtake you.”
