I received a phone call today from a retail reporter at the Business Press, a newspaper based in San Jose, CA. He's doing an article on the increasing trend of super specialty stores. He defined a super specialty store as a store selling a very unusual product in a very niche category. There were two stores in particular in his area that sparked the article idea including an olive oil store (selling only 100% virgin olive oil), and a store that makes and sells edible floral arrangements. He asked me if I thought that specialized stores were a national trend that was growing. I agreed that it's a trend that's growing. The reason is based on what successful cart and kiosk retailers have already discovered.

In order to compete in today's retail marketplace you have to sell something that can't be found at the mass merchandise stores. In many ways the more unique the product, the more successful you will be. Although, there are a few examples that came to mind of specialty stores that were so niche the products they sold didn't appeal to a broad enough range of the US population. For example, up the street from our office in a small strip center, there is a store selling stencils. While I thought it was a neat concept, how many people are actually looking to buy a stencil? And what is the potential for repeat business?

So I suggested to his readers to consider the following before opening a super specialty store:

1. Make sure your product appeals to a broad range of age groups or a large enough base of customers.
2. If you're only selling one item, such as the virgin olive oil, make sure you clearly communicate why your product is different from what's out there already. Even if it's not substantially different you can create a perception that it is through clever packaging, strong visual merchandising, and a great story (perhaps printed on the back of every package) and on signage in the store.
3. If you're not going to compete on price, then make your customers feel like they are getting incredible value through amazing customer service.

Does anyone else have any other ideas? Or has anyone seen any really great super specialty stores?