Stylin' and Smilin' - Trendy Selections and Customer Care Make a Winning Combination for The Buckle

Think about a favorite pair of jeans you own. What if every pair of jeans fit like that favorite pair? The Buckle, 1313 Main Street, Great Bend, can turn your imagination into reality.

"The most frustrating thing is trying jeans on and not finding something that works for you," said The Buckle Great Bend store manager Sally Mauler. "We make sure that doesn't happen here. It's important that our guests find the perfect jeans."

Selling about 7,500 pairs of jeans annually, denim is fundamental to the product line for The Buckle, a leading retailer of quality casual apparel, footwear and accessories.

Winning Team - The Buckle's sales team is left to right, back row: Jordan Bauer, Derek Ellis, Dawn Menges, Jody Johnson, Julie Miller and Hannah Sizemore. Front Row: Lexi Demel, Julie Thompson, LeAnn Winter, Chelsea Riegel and Sally Mauler. The Buckle requires an extensive training program for its employees. "We have educational videos; we have a computer video that teaches how to fit denim; We have videos that talk about proper greeting of our guests; interaction with them; and how to thank them when they leave," said Mauler. "We even have training for what's important around the register area."

In Great Bend, a dozen highly trained staff members learn the finer points of how to fit fashion-conscious women and men into those perfect jeans. Sales staff teammates are educated in all the brand names and private labels that The Buckle sells of casual bottoms, tops, sportswear, outerwear, accessories and footwear.

Store No. 11 opened in Great Bend in the late 1970s and today is one of more than 350 Buckle stores operating in 38 states. The first Buckle store sold only men's clothing and opened in the early 1970s in Kearney, Neb., where its headquarters remains today. Women's clothing was added by the time The Buckle opened in Great Bend.

While Great Bend's Buckle follows corporate standards, a few characteristics make the hometown store unique to others. It remains a downtown fixture, while most other Buckles have opened in malls, strip malls and lifestyle centers. Nationwide, the Buckle sells about a 50-percent split of male and female clothing and accessories. In Great Bend, that split is 70 percent female and 30 percent male. Signature brand BKE is Great Bend's biggest seller of clothing, while other stores tend to have different markets, with many selling Lucky brand and other name brand clothing.

Shoe Source - Mother-daughter customers look at shoes for sale that are displayed during last month's "Moonlight Madness" sale. The Buckle offers a wide selection of shoes for gals and guys, including popular brands like Dr. Marten, Bed Stu, BKE, and Steve Madden brands. "Moonlight Madness" used to include other businesses downtown, Mauler said, but the Buckle is the only one that continues the tradition. Great Bend Buckle customers have come to expect the event each June from 4-11 p.m. "Moonlight Madness and the sidewalk sale (which happens July 21) are important to us because of that bond with our guests," said Mauler.

Because of those differences among stores, corporate headquarters monitors the selling of all products and makes purchasing and shipping decisions to accommodate those niche markets. For special orders, the office will ship requested items from its Nebraska warehouse or from another store to customers or nearby stores in a matter of days following purchases. Corporate also maintains buyers who work to keep its clothing lines up to date.

"I think our buyers and inventory control teams recognize in-style and coming fashions so they set the trend in Great Bend," explained assistant store manager Julie Miller. "You are going to see what they buy in Cosmo-politan, Glamour, Vogue and Teen Vogue. They stay on top of that so well, that I don't think we ever get behind the times on anything. You come here, and you are going to see the styles that you see in those magazines."

Savvy Shoppers - A couple mull over men's shirt selections during "Moonlight Madness" at The Buckle last month, while teammate Jody Johnson offers assistance. The Buckle is most popular with shoppers ranging in age from 16-26, but Mauler says that the company is successfully extending its age range. "You'd be surprised at how many older customers we get outside of that age group," she said. "When mom comes in to shop with the kids, we're not forgetting about mom because mom is special, too, and needs that outfit for a special occasion. Or dad may need the perfect jeans and he can find them here."

Buckle freight is shipped to Great Bend every weekday to replenish inventory and to introduce new styles of clothing, shoes and accessories. Because of the constant flow of inventory, Mauler said some of her customers shop The Buckle every day or every other day. Many others shop at the store on a weekly basis and others on about a monthly basis. Still others shop at The Buckle only during store sales, or in the case of the typical male customer, will shop at the store four times a year with the changing seasons. No matter customer buying habits, Mauler said her teammates work hard to serve every category of loyal customer.

"We always have new items coming in our back door and we're pumped every day when they bring more products," said Mauler. "There's always something new and exciting to share with our guests, so we pick up the phone and call people. That's the relationship building we do once we know what our guests' likes and dislikes are. We're looking to help them, even when they are away from the store."

Any time guests enter the 3,600 square-foot store; Mauler said her staff has the capability to match them with a complete wardrobe, from hat, to shirt, to pants or shorts, to socks and shoes. Even a watch and jewelry can be purchased to accessorize the outfit.

Rack Sales - A Buckle guest pulls a shirt off the rack to examine it during the store's "Moonlight Madness" sale in June. The Buckle's corporate office has an automatic fill in system where computers keep track of merchandise sold so corporate knows to ship those particular items and sizes from its warehouse in Kearney. If they have another store that isn't selling the particular item, then they will ship it from there to the Great Bend store.

"We want it to be a one stop shop so we can get you fixed with everything you need from head to toe," said Mauler. "Life happens and you don't want to take all day to shop and get that outfit."

Added Miller, "Our extensive selection allows them to spend an hour with us when they don't have the luxury to spend a whole day at the mall."

Related to that convenience, The Buckle provides individual customer services such as service-fee-free layaways, charge cards, a frequent shopper program, free alterations, and free gift-wrapping.

The company emphasizes special attention to its guests by constantly training its Great Bend sales force that ranges in age from 17 to 40ish to provide quality care to guests who match a similar age range.

"We have teammates here who love what they do," said Mauler. "Not only do they have a passion for the product, but they also love to see a person smile and they love to make a difference in their day."

"When we hire, we look for that sparkling personality, that smile, that will and that want, and the passion behind the product, said Miller. "It's our intensive customer service that makes the difference for us. We create a bond with our guests and we have a lot of loyal guests because of that commitment to them."

Guys Shop, Too, Sometimes - Two male customers look at Buckle t-shirts during the stores "Moonlight Madness" sale. Thirty percent of The Buckle shoppers in the Great Bend store are male. Mauler said that typically, men shop differently than women do. "They are typically right now; they don't think about four months down the road," she said. "So it's, 'Right now I need four pairs of shorts to go to the lake,' While they are in here, they generally expand their selection to include other items."

It's that personal contact that has allowed The Buckle to thrive in a time when Internet commerce has pushed out many other bricks-and-mortar retailers. Mauler said access to the Internet has actually helped build in-store relationships with her sales team and customers.

"I'm one that has to try jeans on and know that they fit me really well, so I'm one that hardly ever shops on the Internet," said Mauler.

Miller agreed. "Many of our guests are monitoring what's on the Internet daily (at www.buckle.com) and they know that 99.9 percent of what they see on the Internet, they are able to come into our store and feel the material, try it on and not have shipping expense," she explained. "If they just shop the Internet, they aren't going to get the customer service that they find here. Even before online retail, quality service for our guests has always been the key to our success."