Megan Szanik is founder and owner of espy experience.
Megan Szanik
Making people feel good about themselves
Calgary’s Business: Tell me the background of you opening espy. Why and how did it come about?
Szanik: When I first opened espy experience in 2009, we were simply a discount designer boutique opened to take advantage of the glut of goods in the marketplace after big years in fashion.
But in a very short period of time, I had so many interactions with customers who came in and didn’t feel good about the way they looked, or weren’t sure how to find clothes that would make them look the way they wanted to, or didn’t fit the standard body types that traditional retailers stock for, or didn’t know there were alternatives to what they had always shopped for at the mall.
I was naturally good with people and had a great staff, and we were able to change the shopping experience for these people and turn it into something positive.
I had husbands and partners calling to thank me afterwards, and people started sharing their experiences live and online.
I realized that by making people and service core to all my business operations, I could do that again and again and make it a standard experience for my customers.
CB: What’s your philosophy for the type of experience you want customers to have from your store?
Szanik: espy experience is a service-focused, affordable designer concept fashion and styling boutique for men and women, built on a personalized service model that makes people feel good about themselves. We treat each customer as an individual, working with their body type, so they can make the statement they want – whether it’s for a first date, a job interview, a gala reception, or if they just want a pair of jeans that make their bum look fantastic.
We specialize in apparel for tough-to-fit people, like tall slim men, and we love to help clients see how beautiful they are in the perfect fit.
CB: Why did you choose Inglewood as a location?
Szanik: In 2009 it had the most feel of an eastern city to me. Having spent the last eight to 10 years back and forth living in Montreal, it felt like the best choice for me.
I immediately got involved on the BIA (Business Improvement Area) so I could help the business community make the neighbourhood the place to be. When I opened, there were three clothing retailers in the whole neighbourhood. Now there are 11.
CB: How has the business been for you considering the economy in Calgary over the last few years?
Szanik: We feel the busy-ness of Calgary and when it is slower and has less excitement about the economy, but our service model feels generally protected. People come to us for a very specific thing: service and selection.
We feed the fringe edges of the fashion market (like tall slim men and women who want designer jeans to size 14 or 16) and this makes it so we are sought out. Once a customer comes in the door, it is our chance to wow them with our service. We continue to focus on what we do and have to do and not worry about the fashion retail competition that is getting very fierce in Calgary.
Since espy opened in 2009, Nordstrom, Simons, Sporting Life, Saks all arrived with brand-new stores. We also saw Holt Renfrew, Henry Singer and Harry Rosen grow and expand their stores in the same time period as well and people begin to shop a lot online.
Because of our great staff, our community-minded events and charities, and our selection and service model, we gratefully have continued to expand our sales each year.
CB: What’s in store for espy in the future? Any plans to expand?
Szanik: We will open our newly-expanded store (we took over neighbour’s lease) in the same Inglewood location Aug. 15 with a big grand opening event Sept. 28. This will double the size of espy and allow us to triple our mens wear offering, including custom shirts and suits, a Groom Room, and allow more space for our first Canadian designer shop in shop by Iris Setlakwe. Our constantly changing pop-up space will allow us to support up-and-coming designers and constantly offer something new for our clients.
We also have created an event space within the espy space (complete with runway lights) to continue to host events and expand our fundraising efforts in the community.
After this expansion, the focus moves to subscription (for styling services and monthly packages) as we want to continue to service our customers who come from all over Canada.
– Mario Toneguzzi
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