By Emily Williams-Robertshaw
While 2020 was the year of social distancing and e-commerce, local retailers have seen a distinct return to stores this summer as people rediscover their own style.
According to B. Prince owner Bezshan Dolatabadi, the store began getting an insurgence of customers beginning in April. That rise has continued through June and July, which normally are slow months for the store.
Among the shoppers are previous customers who haven’t been to the shop in a while.
“They wanted to rediscover and start fresh,” Dolatabadi said. “They didn’t want to look back.”
Dolatabadi has been working at B. Prince since it was founded in 1981. For many years, he managed much of the operation as founders Betsy and Peter Printz transitioned into retirement, and in 2015, he was able to buy the store.
“I love the relationships with people, because we have customers who have shopped with us for the whole 40 years, and their daughters and granddaughters are shopping with us,” he said.
Dolatabadi moved the clothing store from its former location at Brookwood Village to Lane Parke in Mountain Brook, incorporating new branding and infusing more of his own influence into the shop’s unique sense of discovery.
“Sometimes it is like a museum, I have customers who have come in for years and probably have only bought a few items, but they come in quite regularly just to get inspiration, walk around and look,” Dolatabadi said. “That’s a compliment to us.”
The layout of the store reflects the eclectic style of Dolatabadi and his staff.
“There’s always room for something new,” he said.
He wants people to spend time in the store, hunting for pieces they didn’t see at first glance with support from his staff.
Up for the Hunt
Dolatabadi grew up with a respect for fashion, something his father, mother and grandmother always had a great interest in.
He also has a passion for the hunt when it comes to finding interesting and eclectic pieces that suit the store’s unique, individual-driven sense of style.
“I can’t stop myself,” he said. “If I’m out of town and I go into a store, I can’t help but start digging and searching.”
It also is important for his staff to get involved in the process of stocking the store. They are like a family.
“When I go to market, I come home and show everyone the buys that I’ve looked at,” he said. “I’ll send an email to everyone with different styles, and they submit to me what they like.
“As a result, we get an overall impression, so when the things come in, everybody is invested because everybody has been a part of it.”
One of the reasons he firmly believes brick-and-mortar clothing stores continue to remain relevant despite growing e-commerce platforms is that interpersonal experience customers have with staff members.
“There is definitely still room for that hands-on experience with someone who has become a friend, who knows your style, who can call you when things come in,” he said.
After 40 years in the business, he still loves pretty much everything about it.
“I still love the creative side, doing the buying and merchandising the store,” he said. “This morning I spent two hours ‘repainting the store,’ putting different collections together and making the store look appealing.”
Right after moving to the Lane Parke location, Dolatabadi married his wife, Andrea, and she has taken on the role of business manager.
“She’s got a great head for numbers,” he said. “She also got our website up and running. That’s not my expertise, but watching her do that and seeing how it connects to the front of the store has really reinfused my sense of creativity.”
Tough COVID-19 Year
The past year and a half have been a mixture of downfalls and successes.
“What’s been tough with COVID is not being able to go to market and touch fabrics and textiles,” Dolatabadi said.
He is optimistic about his plans to return to market in Paris in October, but he also sees that it may be put on hold again.
“We are as apprehensive about the future as a lot of people are, but at the same time, we’re welcoming a better time,” he said.
Nevertheless, the store has continued to stock unique pieces through Dolatabadi’s years-long relationships with designers around the world.
Another bright light was the introduction of the store’s virtual fashion shows, which periodically are released on social media.
It’s one of the things that carried Dolatabadi and his staff through the weeks-long pandemic shutdowns.
“When customers started coming back into the store, they kept telling us, ‘Please, don’t stop,’” he said. “So, we still do those virtual shows and we get comments and calls about them every day. That’s something that we never would have learned without this pandemic.”
While some things are uncertain, B. Prince is a constant in serving the community distinctive fashion and a creative experience.
