BUSINESS FEATURE Haute Boutique, Mercantile onMain Merged shops create diverse customer experience I n October 2012, Amy Kerley opened the rst iteration of her business, Haute Boutique, in
BY BROOKE SJOBERG
She created a Facebook group that now has about 11,000 members as well as a proprietary app and website to facilitate online purchases. Kerley also created a free delivery service for customers who live within 20 miles of her warehouse. Being a one-stop-shop, all orders placed online or through the app are ful lled and packaged at the Haute warehouse, and either shipped or delivered locally. The warehouse is also where all live sales are streamed and many of the products are photographed. “We started with myself, my husband, my mother-in-law, my
downtown Round Rock. Nearly seven years later in 2019, Kerley opened Mercantile on Main, a gift boutique that sells goods branded with the city’s logo as an o cial brand ambassador as well as products from other local businesses and artisans. Haute Boutique is now a multimil- lion-dollar business that celebrates its local roots, and Kerley recently com- bined the two businesses under one storefront—a historic property located at 503 E. Main St., Round Rock, known as the Xena Voigt house. Kerley hosted a grand opening for the businesses Feb. 12. “As a whole, we were growing exponentially, “We wanted to do more for the retail customer in downtown Round Rock.” Both the Haute Boutique and Mer- cantile on Main signs are displayed prominently in the entryway, with rooms dedicated to di erent aspects of her businesses. The Haute room features many of her in-store items that were previously sold in a storefront at the Haute warehouse on Dawson Road, including a specialty tank top called the Hautie Tank, of which she said she has sold more than 10,000. Like most of the clothing sold at Haute Boutique, Kerley designed the Hautie Tank in tandemwith a consultant in Los Angeles who helps coordinate the manufacture of the garments in Mexico. Kerley said she recently began sourcing her garments in Mexico to avoid supply chain hurdles, as sourc- ing from countries in Asia led to some and we knew we just needed more retail space,” Kerley said. delays around the holiday season. Kerley said she adapted her busi- ness model to COVID-19 conditions in other ways.
Both Haute Boutique and Mercantile on Main are prominently represented inside the new location. (Photos by Brooke Sjoberg/Community Impact Newspaper)
mother and sta that I was legally allowed to have in the building during quaran- tine,” Kerley said. “We would load up our vehicles, put gloves and masks on, and we would deliver
“AS AWHOLE, WE WERE GROWING
Much of the clothing at Haute Boutique is custom designed.
Among other items, Mercantile on Main carries Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.
EXPONENTIALLY, ANDWE KNEWWE JUST NEEDED MORE RETAIL SPACE.” AMY KERLEY, HAUTE BOUTIQUE, MERCANTILE ON MAIN OWNER
FROMSITE TO STOOP Once a customer places an order, those who live within 20
HAUTE ITEMS Haute Boutique and Mercantile on Main both o er unique merchandise for its customers that larger stores might not carry, such as: • Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, a brand carried in store by few retailers in Central Texas, according to Kerley • Haute Boxes, subscription boxes of products sold online and in store • Exclusive in-house clothing designs
miles of the Haute warehouse can use the company’s delivery service. • Once the order is placed, Haute employees ful ll and package the order. • Orders are then sorted based on whether they are to be picked up or delivered. • Orders are either picked up or delivered to a customer’s front porch.
people’s packages to their porch.” Kerley said the opportunity to create repeat customers outweighed the risk and cost of creating a delivery service. She said some customers have appreciated the service enough to tip their delivery driver, leave them snacks, or o er a kind word when none of it is expected. “If I’m going to have a platform to sell to people remotely, how in the world am I going to get them their packages and have them feel safe about it?” she said. Kerley said she believes customers love shopping at her stores because she provides a friendly, personable atmosphere that is missing frommost big-box stores. It helps that she oper- ates her businesses in her hometown, she said. “I went to elementary school here,” she said. “I went to high school here. I went to middle school here. I grew up here. I bought a home here. I pay my taxes here. I raised my family here. And now, I own a business here.”
SOURCE: AMY KERLEY COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Haute Boutique, Mercantile onMain 503 E. Main St., Round Rock Tue.-Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., closed Sun.-Mon. 512-375-1769 www.hautellc.com Haute Boutique warehouse 25 Dawson Road, Round Rock 512-716-0800
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ROUND ROCK EDITION • MARCH 2022
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