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On Saturday morning, Brian and
Marshawn Stevens enjoyed a huge turnout for the opening day of their
new store, Overstock Outlet in downtown Lincoln. The store is
located at 129 South Kickapoo Street in the location formerly known
as Indigo Quilt.
People arrived early to witness the
ribbon cut that was held at 9:45 a.m. and then when the door opened
at 10 a.m. they all anxiously entered the store for their first time
shopping experience. All the shopping carts were quickly taken and
folks grabbed shopping basket and proceeded to check out everything
the store has to offer. Before long the cash register was ringing as
shoppers found several items that they were anxious to purchase at
the reduced outlet prices.
Prior to the opening, the ribbon cut
included Marshawn and Brian surrounded by their family, including
three of their four children. The Stevens children Jeron, Elayna and
Lydia were also joined by Brian's parents Kathy and Bill Dodd and
Larry Stevens.
Others on hand for the ribbon cut
included Little Miss Logan County Oliva Harsen, 2024 Miss Logan
County Fair Queen Abbie Arnold, Lincoln Mayor Tracy Welch, Lincoln
alderwoman and downtown business owner Robbin McClallen, Logan
County Board member Lance Conahan and downtown business owner Eileen
Mullins (Sir Renna Tea).
The ribbon cut was conducted by Nila Smith and Karen Castelein of
Lincoln Daily News with help from Richard Smith.
The first to speak at the ribbon cut
was Mayor Welch. “I want to say thank you for choosing Lincoln,
thank you for coming downtown with your small business. Small
businesses are really the fabric of our community and make
communities move forward.” Welch also acknowledged Patrick Doolin
who was in the crowd, as the owner of the property. He noted that
investing in the downtown properties and making them available to
businesses is a valuable contribution to the well-being of the
downtown area.
The next person to speak was
alderwoman McClallen. McClallen welcomed the new business owners to
the downtown community adding that it is so important to have the
storefronts in the downtown area occupied and busy. She wished them
all the best of luck.
Eileen Mullins, the owner of Sire
Renna Tea in the 100 block of North Kickapoo also said a few words.
Mullins issued a welcome to the new business owners and added that
if they need anything, “we are all here to help.”
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Marshawn Stevens then spoke. “We want
to thank you guys for being here. We have 15 years of experience in
this style of retail.” She went on to explain that they were excited
to bring their business to Lincoln and that shoppers would find new
products at reduced prices that were in most cases 40 to 60 percent
off what shoppers will pay in big box or online.
Brian Stevens also thanked everyone for coming out to help the
couple celebrate their first day of business in Lincoln.
Before the posed picture, Smith also commented noting that for any
small business the most important component is shoppers. She urged
guests to shop through the store not just on this day but in the
future as well.
With speeches concluded, the posed
picture was taken with the Stevenses holding the scissor in
preparation for the cut. Then the crowd gathered helped with the
three-two-one- snip countdown and at the appropriate time the couple
snipped the ribbon on their new location in Lincoln.
Immediately, guests piled into the store where they grabbed carts
and began exploring the new store while enjoying treats from Flossie
& Delzena’s and fresh coffee from Guest House Coffee and Pastries.
The Stevenses have been conducting this type of outlet business for
the past 15 years. The couple said they began with online sales and
when they had learned the business and made a go of it, they began
thinking about brick and mortar. They opened their first store a
couple of years ago in Mason City.
Marshawn said that has done alright for them, but one of the things
they had noticed over time was that a fair amount of their foot
traffic was coming from Lincoln.
She said that they came to Lincoln and
found that there was indeed no other store like theirs in the
community. They decided it was time to take the leap and move into
town. When they discovered that their was a good building in the
heart of the city, they felt led to take the chance. Indigo quilt
officially moved into their new location in the 600 block of
Broadway Street at the end of March and the Stevenses began moving
into the Kickapoo location in April.
Inside the store right now there is a wide variety of items from
home appliances to dinner ware and kitchen tools, seat cushions for
chairs and outdoor lawn furniture, air conditioners, craft supplies,
books, cosmetics and health and beauty supplies, toys, jewelry and
much more.
Marshawn explained earlier in the week that they purchase overstock
items by the truckload. She said that she has some idea of what will
be on the truck when she buys it, but not an inventory sheet. The
trucks deliver to a warehouse owned by the Stevenses where the two
work to inventory the items and prepare them to be moved into their
retail stores.
When items in the store sell out, the
inventory from the warehouse is brought in to re-stock the shelves. Marshawn said that what shoppers need to understand is what is on
the shelves today, once sold out, may not return. The best way to
shop at an overstock outlet is to buy what you see when you see it,
then come again in a couple of weeks and check out what is new in
the store.
Currently the couple is doing all the work themselves. Therefore,
the immediate plan is to have the Lincoln store open from Wednesday
through Saturday, but that can change as they build their business.
[Nila Smith] |
