Owner credits staff, customers for success
When Beyond Cotton, which has now been open for more than 20 years, was purchased in 2013 by Susan Parke, a new era was set into motion. Over the past 10 years, Parke has worked to continue serving the store’s original clientele from its new location, while also bringing in the next generation of shoppers.
“I was looking for a business opportunity after I had gotten my M.B.A.,” Parke said. “I had worked in retail in college and then beyond college, but I had never had an opportunity to own my own business, and this [opportunity] came up. It was just a great match.”
Last year, Beyond Cotton was a finalist for Best Ladies Clothing Store in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Best of the Best readers’ poll. This year, Parke’s business won the title.
“[Winning Best Ladies Clothing Store] feels great …,” Parke said. “Our customers really came out and voted for us and supported us as they always do.”
Parke said that one big challenge Beyond Cotton faced was COVID-19. The store closed temporarily, but that did not stop Parke or her employees. Parke said they utilized social media to get information to their customers. They delivered clothes and even jumped on FaceTime calls with individual customers to show them the inventory and help them find what they were looking for.
“The response was really overwhelming. Our customers showed up, and they kept us afloat basically during that time,” Parke said. “We did what we needed to do, and they certainly did support us.”
Parke credits the success of her business to her staff and said they are what makes Beyond Cotton stand out as the best.
“I think the No. 1 reason that my business excels is because of the staff I have here, but our customers know that. They comment all the time on my staff,” Parke said. “The reason I’m in business is that every one of my staff treats this store like it’s theirs, and that is the secret to my success, and it’s no secret — my customers know it. I have had good employees since I took over this store. They are just absolutely phenomenal.”
Parke said her favorite part of working in the retail industry is seeing customers’ faces light up when they see themselves in the mirror. She said that is how the staff members know they have done their job.
Parke also gives back to the community by donating a variety of items to auctions that are raising money for causes such as PATH (Partners Against Human Trafficking) and the Wolfe Street Foundation, a recovery program for both women and men, and many other causes.
Parke said she encourages those who have not been to Beyond Cotton in the past 10 years to stop by.
“I think when people have come to the store and they have not been in for a really long time, they are like ‘wow,’ so I feel like we have evolved. We have changed in a very strong and positive way,” Parke said. “I think this honor actually kind of magnifies that, that we are doing some good things.”