Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Rose.
Hi Karen, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started in the Western Wear business in my hometown of Damon, Texas at the age of 15. The store was in a portable building in a middle of a cotton patch on a major highway. As that business grew-it expanded, and I stayed there through high school and part of college. As I moved on to College Station and continued school there, I worked for another Western Wear store there. After college, I moved to Irving and worked for a veterinary supply company, but was not happy and was offered a store to run back home, and there I went. I did everything from buying, paying bills, and advertising, and continued to work there for 6 years. I had always wanted to be on the wholesale side of the business and left there to start a road job for a wholesaler in the western wear business that was based out of Dallas. I continued to work for them for 11 years. After having 2 kids and feeling the need to spend more time at home I left there and opened my own lady’s boutique here in El Campo, Texas. That was in 2005 and 17 years later the business is still going strong and encompasses 4400 sq. feet and many different categories of items from ladies’ clothing, shoes, accessories, gifts, and housewares including dinnerware, cookware, bakeware, flatware, stemware, and many other categories. We do bridal registries and cooking classes.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
No, success is never easy. Hard work, failures, changes in employees, customers, and different stages in your own family make for struggles along the way. Probably the worst day of my business career was when the city actually came in and closed us down due to the COVID pandemic. Even though we sell cooking needs–we were not considered a business-like Wal-Mart or HEB–just because we didn’t sell milk and eggs! That was the worst feeling ever, not knowing how I would make a living. But we did survive that. The other challenge would be the loss of my husband to COVID in March of 2021. It still is a challenge today.
We’ve been impressed with Prairie Rose Emporium, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Our business is located in a small community in the heart of “rice” country. Our county is the #1 producer of rice in the state of Texas. El Campo is a very immersed in the agriculture world. Crops grown here include rice, milo, cotton, corn, hay, and of course, cattle. El Campo has also been known for various oil field companies throughout the years including FESCO, Key Energy, and others. We opened the store to fill the void of ladies’ fashions here in El Campo. I knew that my main customer base would be between the ages of 35-80 when I opened and that is where we still are today.
One can usually find me in the store 5-6 days a week with Wednesday being my universal “day off.” Even though, having a business you may still be doing business on your day off!
I would like to think that we are known for our great “customer service” and free gift wrapping. Our goal is to making “shopping a different kind of shopping experience.”
I would venture to guess that customer service also is what sets us apart from others.
I can’t say that we are “one brand proud”, but that we carry quality products that last. When you hear a customer say-I always get great compliments when I wear clothing from your store, or that blouse I bought didn’t fall apart the first time I washed it-I’m still wearing it! Those are the things you like to hear. Those customers are “happy with their purchase”.
We strive to buy quality products that you, as a customer, want to take home with you–being clothing or housewares. We are proud to put our labels on the gift wrap that go out our doors.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Being a brick-and-mortar retailer, you don’t want to think about the fact that you could be a dying breed. But not to see that view would be putting blinders on. I do see more and more online purchases happening, but we still have those customers who want the whole “shopping” experience, they want to touch and feel the fabric of clothing, they want to touch and feel the kitchen gadgets they are buying, they want to hear what kitchen gadget you like the most and use, we have the grandmother who wants to physically see what her granddaughter picked out for her wedding registry–we still have the customer that doesn’t want to point and click to order their retail items. We do offer online shopping for our kitchen side through our website via Bridge. We do many online orders through our website for wedding registries as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.prairieroseelcampo.com
- Instagram: kjk1986
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Prairie-Rose-Emporium-110547439011594/?ref=pages_you_manage
