"I Love A Parade" is a song recorded by Victor Arden and Phil Ohman and their orchestra 1931.  Although I wasn’t around in 1931, I remember this march.  People still love a parade, especially a Grand Parade such as we’ll experience this Saturday in Independence.  Retailers I’ve known along a parade route, however, have not always been thrilled to host a parade.  A group of Independence business owners have figured out the secret to making “parade time”; i.e. “Neeowollah week” valuable as a way to boost sales and/or build customer loyalty for the future. 

In a previous life, early 1980’s, I was president of a group named “Downtown Garden City”.  This was before the creation of the Kansas Main Street (KMS) program in the mid-1980’s.  (Although the state of Kansas unwisely scuttled KMS as a state-sponsored program a few years ago, the Independence Main Street program continues as a strong and vital organization working for the prosperity of downtown Independence.)  The widely held belief among the merchant members of Downtown Garden City was that “nothing kills business like a parade.” 

A few years ago, Brian Hight and Ryan McDiarmid of Magnolia Scents by Design (formerly Magnolia Health and Home) decided to buck the trend of looking at Neewollah as a nuisance and instead decided to use the event as a way to meet new customers.  Instead of restricting hours and posting a large “No Public Restroom” sign during the week, the two extended their hours and actually put up a sign that welcomed festival goers to come inside and use their restroom facility.  Imagine, on the way back to the restroom, strangers noticed the great store with great, friendly people.  They began to buy and they bought—and still buy--big.  A couple of years ago, Brian told me that Neewollah week was second only to the busiest week of the Christmas holiday season in sales volume. 

When Tom Schwarz, One-Stop Pack-N-Ship and Terry Trout, Ane Mae’s and Ane Mae’s Gifts and Goodies took ownership of the ground floor of the iMall building at 325 N Penn, they made it a point to continue the tradition of making the restrooms available to the public.  Their doors say “Public Restrooms” and their exterior banner (printed at Fab Lab ICC) leads off with “Clean Restrooms”. 

Lance and Judy Stanislaus, former owners of Uncle Jack’s at Penn and Main, used to actually invite people to bring their “Neewollah vendor” food into the restaurant and enjoy it with an Uncle Jack’s beverage. 

I once saw a glowing Facebook post on the Magnolia page espousing the great store, great products and friendly service.  The one thing the poster remembered and appreciated above all else was the way in which Magnolia welcomed them to come in and use their restroom facilities during Neewollah. 

The secret to retail commercial success is the same during Neewollah week as it is at any other time.  Welcome people into the business and make them comfortable while they are there. 

Jim Correll is the director of Fab Lab ICC at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on the campus of Independence Community College. He can be reached at (620) 252-5349 or by email at jcorrell@indycc.edu. Archive columns and podcasts at www.fablabicc.org.