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From the December-January 2001 Edition
Three Fun and Successful Stores Fair Lawn News checked out three fun Fair Lawn stores that successfully compete against the superstores and malls of Paramus. They attract customers from all over Bergen County and the surrounding counties. The secret to their success – high quality products and excellent customer service. All three stores develop personal relationships with their customers and anticipate their customers' needs. Ken’s Magic and Costume Shop on Broadway is not haunted, but it does feel like Halloween every day. You can find fake eyeballs, horror nails, ghost costumes, trick cards and squirting corsages.
The owner, Shelly Vanderhoof, told Fair Lawn News
that her store sells higher quality merchandise then the products found at
the big party stores. An
important part of her business is selling and renting costumes for school
shows. Ms. Vanderhoof said
the store is well known for its high quality products and has been in the
same place for 24 years. Creative Classroom
on Fair Lawn Avenue sells fun educational products for children that are
not found at typical toy stores like science kits, books, craft projects,
audio tapes to learn a language, butterfly kits, and many teacher’s products.
The
owner, Sheri Adler, told Fair Lawn News she often recognizes customers when they come in and knows the
types of items they like. Her services include a popular Busy Mom’s Gift
Service – if you call and tell Ms. Adler that you need a present for a five
year old named Andrew, she will pick out something appropriate and when
you pick up the present the next day, it’s already wrapped with
Andrew’s name on it. Ms.
Adler keeps strong tie with her customers:
She offers discounts to teachers, sends birthday cards to children
with coupons, and hosts a “magic carpet time” twice a month with story
time and crafts for 3 to 6 year olds. Joker’s Child on River Road offers a large selection of comic books, trading cards, action figures and collectibles. It is hard not to smile when you see comic books about characters called Swamp Thing, Plastic Man, Captain Science and Powerpuff Girls.
The store owner, Len Katz, told Fair Lawn News that the store's specialized products do not sell well in malls. He said that the store attracts customers from as far away as Connecticut. They also take special orders from their customers and have a computerized reserve service.
Surprisingly, Joker's Child sells mostly to adults. Mr. Katz said that kids today aren't reading much; they are playing video and computer games. The comics that sell best are Batman, Superman and Justice League of America. By the way, the Justice League is a group of superheroes who have banded together to fight "really big evil".
Note:
Fair Lawn News does
not accept advertising nor does it receive compensation from any
businesses. Contacts: Creative
Classroom 7-07
Fair Lawn Ave (201)
796-0949 www.1stpage.com/creativeclassroom Kens
Magic & Costume Shop 28-01
Broadway (201)
791-0777 Joker’s
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