Shopping for spiritual customers
When Diane Nuckle opened Earth Spirits herbal apothecary and holistic center in Sturbridge in 1994, there were only a handful of stores like hers across the state. Back then, yoga was still considered non-mainstream and "New Age." Also little known then: the Reiki (an ancient hands-on healing therapy) and herbology that Nuckle had developed a passion for in dealing with her own family’s health.
Twelve years later, Nuckle has plenty of company across the region and the country. Retailers offering products, classes and seminars for the mind, body and spirit do an estimated $10.63 billion in business a year nationwide, according to www.lohas.com, a website reporting on trends in the "lifestyle of health and sustainability" marketplace.Ray Hemachandra, at-large editor of New Age Retailer, says he thinks that $10-billion figure is actually low. His 20-year-old Bellingham, WA-based magazine, which caters to independent New Age store owners, has seen its subscriber list double since 1998, he says, to 7,000 nationwide currently. He sees an enormous growth potential in the retail segment as the public becomes more aware and more comfortable with spiritual and metaphysical pursuits.
The growing number of local New Age retailers concur that they’re drawing a wide array of customers, along with their respective core patrons from spiritual religious segments or dedicated holistic lifestyles. But, as Hemachandra observes, these retailers are more driven by their spiritual passion to help people than in amassing profits.
Janine Fregeau says she was "spiritually driven" to open the Crystal Palace Healing Center in Northboro in 2005 after years of office work. A long-time reiki practitioner, she says she also has a "gift of seeing and feeling energy within the home" in the ancient Chinese practice Feng Shui.
Fregeau launched her store in a 6,000-square-foot, two-story commercial building – two-thirds of which she
is in process of renting out to health practitioners. The center now includes the permanent offices of a massage therapist,
an esthetician, a psychologist and a psychotherapist. It also hosts workshops and sessions, including acupuncture, yoga, Tai Chi, palm reading, animal healing and Reiki. The retail portion of the Crystal Palace offers crystals, books, candles, music, incense and jewelry.
Fregeau says she is breaking even after a year and expects profitability by yearend. More than a business, she says, "This is my life now."
Pamela Utakis, owner of The Purple Moon in Webster, finds similar rewards with her two-year-old store catering to pagans, including practitioners of the Wicca religion. She decided to open a store after becoming interested in paganism through her daughter-in-law and realizing there was no place for pagans to get supplies or gather for workshops and classes. Utakis says her store only recently began to make a profit.
Meanwhile, Earth Spirits has evolved from a 500-square-foot store that offered mainly bulk herbs to a 3,500-square-foot center that offers a menu of classes, treatments and products. Nuckle says it is actually an extension of herself. Now at 407 Main St., it sells everything from drums and crystals, to incense and flower essences to clothing and jewelry. Herbs remain a big part of the business, and Nuckle has an educational garden for customers out front.
As New Age products have become more mainstream, so has the competition. All three local store owners note that more of the things they sell are now being offered by retail chains, including Wal-Mart. But, they say they offer something big box retailers don’t – one-on-one service, and a shared interest in their customers’ lifestyles.
With a seven-member staff trained in herbology and other holistic practices, Earth Spirits strives, Nuckle says, to be a part of the community it serves. "Our thoughts are not, ‘come in and buy something and leave,’" she says.
Micky Baca can be reached at mbaca@wbjournal.com
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments