Annie Glenn (also known as Urban Girl Annie) started her company LG Retail Enterprises back in 1994 and has been doing retail ever since. Although Annie majored in literature in college, she knew she wanted to own a business since she was 10 years old.
With no prior background in retail, she credits her business success to having great instincts and a lack of fear. Today, she’s a proud entrepreneur and a mom to two amazing boys, Jack and Cooper. Her hope is that her stores, including Urban Girl Accessories, bring joy and happiness to whoever walks through the doors.
Jamie Carl is the owner and founder of Serge + Jane in Minneapolis, MN. S+J is a lifestyle boutique featuring men's, women's, kids, pets, vinyl, home + gifts in a 3-story shop (4 including the open-air rooftop where they host fashion shows, trunk shows, pop-ups + always a DJ + dance party)! Jamie spent the first 15 years of her career in retail at Target Corporation. She started there in Merchandising in Girls Toys, then was promoted to a Buyer position in School Supplies and Home Office. Jamie then moved into the marketing team, first in a licensing role and then into advertising for apparel & accessories.
Jamie spent the last 9 years there working on and leading the internal events team. She was responsible for board meetings all the way up to 10,000-person national team meetings with guest speakers, musicians, fashion shows and more! Jamie left the role at Target when she couldn't balance two big jobs within retail in one family and took the opportunity to stay home with my two young boys for several years, all while fine-tuning her vision for the shop and "visually re-merchandising" her house for each holiday!
Michael Schultz is the co-owner and creative eye of Cursive New York, which operates 2 stores in New York City. Cursive is a tightly focused concept with the simple mission of cultivating joy. Michael, along with his husband, Douglas Duncan, have established Cursive as a strong and forward voice in the industry. Cursive offers gift, stationery, home and lifestyle products and is constantly evolving.
Cursive operated in New York City’s iconic Grand Central Terminal for 11 years and within ABC Carpet & Home for 15 years, until the Covid-19 pandemic upended those long runs. Making lemonade out of lemons, Schultz and Duncan doubled down on New York and opened 2 shops in New York’s West Village neighborhood, 4 blocks apart. One shop is true to the original Cursive vision, while Cursive Home is the brand’s extension into home goods.
In this second Retailer Roundtable, we chat about what our three guests have been up to over the last couple of years. Annie, Jamie, and Michael all share the stories of how they started up their stores and how they approach shows. We discuss some of the highlights from the recent Las Vegas show, plans for the upcoming holiday season, and the craziest current in-store trends. We also talk about how everyone approaches sales and handles social media.
