Rainbow
Trying to attract national retail to Downtown Buffalo has proven to be a challenging task. It’s the proverbial chicken or the egg; population density would make the City more attractive to retail investors, while Downtown would be more attractive to new residents with more retail amenities.
The “chains” have tended to cluster mostly in WNY suburban malls. But do you realize that there is a national chain store that features juniors, plus, petite, shoes, lingerie, accessories, and kids right in the heart of Downtown Buffalo?
Without the dramatic ambience of, say, an Abercrombie, or the hip cachet of an H&M, the store is part of a 38 state, 1000+ unit chain, founded in 1980 and owned by three Brooklyn brothers. Can you guess the name?
Rainbow.
Yep! Rainbow; right across from the Main Place Mall. While not the most elegant store in the world, Rainbow counts among its loyal customers many Downtown M-F workers and has become a “secret stop” for the city’s style set. With 7 neighborhood stores throughout Buffalo, Rainbow specializes in that super competitive 14-29 women’s market. The Rainbow website professes to providing “low cost runway substitutes” and, damn, that’s just what they do.
Liz Ellis, the manager of the Main St. store, is a ten year Rainbow veteran. She takes pride in her store and in the courteous, customer service-oriented staff she has assembled.
“We have great merchandise; but it’s also about customer service. I believe in training by showing and doing, so I pretty much do everything along side of the staff,” said Liz. “We’re all-inclusive here. Many of my customers have been with me the entire time; from the days when I began at the Rainbow store on Grant St.” I can attest to Liz’s popularity; our conversation was interrupted many times with customer questions and people “just wanting to say hello” to Liz.
Rainbow’s high volume buying keeps their prices ridiculously low. The selection is huge and really must be seen to be appreciated. “Last Friday was awesome!” said Liz. “This Main St. store has had the highest percentage of same store sales increase in our 17 area stores that include Rochester and Pittsburg.” So much for the “no customers downtown” myth!
The day of my visit showed fall ’06 to be trickling in. There was an impressive denim department, with silhouettes from slim to cargo-cut. There were also great knit tops, killer belts and accessories, dresses which leaned toward “hot,” and a totally kickin’ lingerie department.
There’s a lot of look here, if you know what to do with it. Rainbow is the perfect store for the hardcore stylist that loves the thrill of the hunt. It’s also a perfect stop for those wanting to experiment with a new look without breaking the bank.
Rainbow Shops
http://www.rainbowshops.com/company/history.html
Great post Joan. Thanks for pointing out the "High Volume Buying" here. This just proves that downtown retail can make it, and make it great.
This is a great post. It really should be in City where it would get more readers.
This certainly does prove the Main St. worst problem are all the bad attitudes people continue to have!
Joan,
I leave the critique of the clothing to you. However, exterior appearance of several of the area stores leaves a lot to be desired. The exterior of the Bailey Ave, Grant St and Broadway stores has been shameful at times. I've seen letters in the marquee missing and the lighting not working properly. Rent-to-own stores do a better job maintaining their exterior appearance. It reminds me of another encounter I recently had with a local merchant. He complained that he was closing the retail part of his business because no one in the neighborhood ever came in. I was not surprised because until I was referred to this merchant, I thought the location had gone out of business. If people think a place is a dump or closed for that matter based on the exterior, they're never going to discover the hidden jem. The moral of this story is first impressions mean alot.
BR
There are other retailers who are making it downtown: Sutherland's office supplies on Court Street; CVS & Rite Aid, the latter of which has been at the same address for decades; and the army-navy store (whose name suddenly escapes me) at Main &Tupper.
Tent City, or Washington Surplus - same place.
Dear Joan, is the rainbow in your story the same rainbow shop on grant street????
love
Thereis indeed a Rainbow Shop at 110 Grant.
http://www.rainbowshops.com/
Gotta say --
On a receptionist's budget, while it's not a tailored wool suit, it's nice to be able to afford more than one fitted blouse or a shirt to go dancing in -- especially for those of us that are size 10 and up. I shopped here constantly while I worked at the Brisbane Building, and I was very grateful the store was available, since I rely on public transport as well.
i wish urban outfitters would move downtown, particularly into the old pier one space...instead they decide to put one in the galleria mall. its called URBAN OUTFITTERS. geez.
i wish urban outfitters would move downtown, particularly into the old pier one space...instead they decide to put one in the galleria mall. its called URBAN OUTFITTERS. geez.