Crafty Yankee
How Crafty Yankee Keeps Evolving with Retail Pro® Analytics
“Let’s say we had a 20% increase last month. Where did that come from? Jewelry? Glass? Pottery? Once I see the trend in the data, I can break it down by vendor or resources. And I can compare that data to last year’s.”
- Kathy Fields, Owner, Crafty Yankee
Background
In the historic town of Lexington, Mass., retailers walk a fine line between respecting
tradition and embracing modern business practices.
Crafty Yankee, a fine gift shop located right where “the shot heard round the world” was launched, started using Retail Pro as its retail management solution in 2000, leveraging its robust functionality to transform what originally was a sleepy little business into a vibrant, charitable part of the community
Headquarters:
Lexington, MA
Website:
Product:
Retail Pro 9
Business Partner:
Customer Since:
2000
Business Partner:
Embracing Modern Business Practices
![Lady in jeans and a blue graphic baseball shirt sitting on the arm of a leather chair near tables with lamps]()
Shortly after the acquisition, she recognized the need to put in a computer system. Initially, she opened a couple satellite stores and networked computers so she could be away from the store—perhaps
enjoy a vacation—and still be in touch remotely.
Business was growing but Fields eventually realized she needed to consolidate her business into one location and, to be successful, have a thorough understanding of which merchandise was selling and when it was bought.
Knowing those sales trends would give her a concrete understanding of what was going on in her
business so she could offer popular products and streamline inventory.
Shortly after the acquisition, she recognized the need to put in a computer system. Initially, she opened a couple satellite stores and networked computers so she could be away from the store—perhaps
enjoy a vacation—and still be in touch remotely.
Business was growing but Fields eventually realized she needed to consolidate her business into one location and, to be successful, have a thorough understanding of which merchandise was selling and when it was bought.
Knowing those sales trends would give her a concrete understanding of what was going on in her business so she could offer popular products and streamline inventory.
Using Analytics to Reshape the Store
![Cowgirl sitting in a truck smiling and tipping her hat while wearing chic-dirty gloves]()
Crafty Yankee found Retail Pro’s analytical capabilities exceptionally valuable in accomplishing this end. “By having good computer information, I can constantly reshape the store,” said Fields.
“We must change with the customer: Patterns, age, tastes.”
Retail Pro 9 gave Fields tools to analyze Crafty Yankee’s $1 million business by key segments. The store has been using Retail Pro 9 since 2012 and Fields credits the software with contributing to the store’s consistent, healthy growth despite a stagnant overall economy.
Knowing what sells—and what doesn’t—is critical to every retailer and Crafty Yankee adopted an
analytical method with Retail Pro. No guesswork here: “I like to analyze my business in lots of
different segments. It’s important to me to start from the top.”
Fields continued, “Let’s say we had a 20% increase last month. Where did that come from?
Jewelry? Glass? Pottery? Once I see the trend in the data, I can break it down by vendor or resources.
And I can compare that data to last year’s.”
Crafty Yankee found Retail Pro’s analytical capabilities exceptionally valuable in accomplishing this end. “By having good computer information, I can constantly reshape the store,” said Fields.
“We must change with the customer: Patterns, age, tastes.”
Retail Pro 9 gave Fields tools to analyze Crafty Yankee’s $1 million business by key segments. The store has been using Retail Pro 9 since 2012 and Fields credits the software with contributing to the store’s consistent, healthy growth despite a stagnant overall economy.
Knowing what sells—and what doesn’t—is critical to every retailer and Crafty Yankee adopted an analytical method with Retail Pro. No guesswork here: “I like to analyze my business in lots of different segments. It’s important to me to start from the top.”
Fields continued, “Let’s say we had a 20% increase last month. Where did that come from? Jewelry? Glass? Pottery? Once I see the trend in the data, I can break it down by vendor or resources. And I can compare that data to last year’s.”
A Technology Update that Made a Difference
![Blonde woman with short curly hair and warms extended wearing a colorful shawl, white tanktop, jeans and rustic leather boots]()
None of that could have happened if Crafty Yankee had remained with its original retail
management platform, CraftShop, which she started using in 1995. Much of the data was
difficult to extract and it required quite a bit of manual work.
“What I liked from the beginning with Retail Pro was that they saw what I had with the CraftShop system. It was pretty complicated,” said Fields. Realizing she needed a more robust system, she started researching other software solutions, finally determining that Retail Pro was the best fit for her needs.
“I have thousands of items and people would tell me, ‘You’re going to have to re-enter all that
information.’ And I said, ‘I don’t think so!’”
None of that could have happened if Crafty Yankee had remained with its original retail
management platform, CraftShop, which she started using in 1995. Much of the data was
difficult to extract and it required quite a bit of manual work.
“What I liked from the beginning with Retail Pro was that they saw what I had with the CraftShop system. It was pretty complicated,” said Fields. Realizing she needed a more robust system, she started researching other software solutions, finally determining that Retail Pro was the best fit for her needs.
“I have thousands of items and people would tell me, ‘You’re going to have to re-enter all that information.’ And I said, ‘I don’t think so!’”
