February 2012

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Harbor owner Lisa Thompson Eisler.

ollingswood, N.J., is about 60 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, and about five miles from any major river. In short, it is nowhere near a dock, beach or other area in which someone would fine a store devoted to nautical-themed merchandise. But there it is, a successful store called Harbor. And, it is “ship shape” from the front window to the back wall. The owner, Lisa Thompson Eisler, is responsible for this delightful find, that can easily be a model shop for any retailer, especially a retailer also dedicated to selling nautical-themed merchandise.

The original Harbor opened in October, 2004 and the trip was a bit rocky, but not due to Lisa or her merchandise. She explains, "Within a few months of moving in, we found out the building was for sale when the sale sign went in the window and eventually discovered, when the lease sign went up, that the new owner did not intend to renew our lease." It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. A more desirable store across the street became available and Lisa and her husband jumped at it. There was no glitch in the business. "We were sorry to see a business closing across the street but grateful to be able to move as we really wanted to stay in town, where we live. We learned that the first rule of business ownership is: be prepared to roll with the punches," she declares. Of course, on top of it all, Lisa was dealing with major personal matters — nice personal matters. She explains, "I had previously been a manager at another Collingswood business and I knew that that was coming to an end for several reasons. My husband is co-owner of Harbor and was very supportive of us taking a chance and opening our own business. We were also in the process of adopting our daughter and wanted to be able to take her to work."

An eye-catching display at Harbor.

So how and why did this landlubber open a shop devoted to nautical-themed products? She notes, "The concept behind Harbor was to create a place that we would enjoy being in and that would evoke a favorable feeling in people when they walked in the door. We love the ocean and the beach and wanted to do something that was different from anything else in town."

Lisa is dedicated to keeping the shop as authentically nautical as possible — from the fixtures to the products on them. She goes to flea markets and antiques shops, in addition to attending major buying shows on the East Coast, and taking business excursions to coastal areas, especially Maine. Among her major suppliers are Authentic Models, European Soaps, The Good Home Company, and TAG. Her bestselling items include sea salt bathsalts and starfish-shaped soaps from European Soaps, sachets, candles and potpourri from Scentations, home care products from The Good Home Company, ship models and nautical items from Authentic Models, rubber sailor and pirate duckies from Schyllings Toys, bisques and chowders from Chincoteaque Seafood, and fish-shaped hot water bottles from Pendergrass.

A boat display piece sets the scene at Harbor.

This very hands-on retailer is up on trends. She declares that the hottest new looks include coral everything and various color combinations that range from tropical to cool blues. “We have a lot of customers who are decorating children's rooms and are looking for fun elements like fish nets and life preservers. We’ve noticed that every company and catalog has included a nautical line. At Harbor we are striving to stick with our theme, if we add something it has to be nautical in style, a lighthouse birdhouse for example. We don’t want to specialize in nautical; we want to be all nautical, all the time.”

As with just about every retailer, Lisa finds marketing to be a challenge. She explains, "In the past, we have run print ads with a local paper but found it was costing more than it was bringing in. Now, we will concentrate on mailings to our growing mailing list and in-store promotions and contests. We will be having a Guess How Many Beach Balls Are In The Window Contest to give away tickets to a Beach Boys concert in April."

A warm display of nautical themed décor items at Harbor

As for being nowhere near a shoreline, she says, "Being an hour or two from the coast has been working for us because it seems that everyone who comes in either has a beach house or knows someone who does. People seem glad to find us and they either get the concept or they don’t. We want to appeal to people who love the beach, especially those who don’t have beach houses and convince them that they can add a few elements to any room or house and give it a beachy feeling."

She has also been fortunate to receive a lot of publicity. A major South Jersey newspaper did a special report on Collingwood a few months ago and the first item listed in the “You must visit” section was Harbor, 817 Haddon Avenue. Wow!

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