Business Spotlight: Dick's 5 and 10

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|ret|Walking into Dick's 5 |amp| 10 in Branson is like stepping into another era. From the circa-1960 green, black and beige tile floors to the jukebox, this old-fashioned variety store evokes fond memories of what shopping was like before giant retail chains began standardizing the experience.

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|ret|Each aisle in the store is packed with interesting and unusual items. In fact, it's almost impossible to see everything after just one pass through Dick's 5 |amp| 10. That, however, is part of the store's charm.

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|ret||quot|We have 165,000 items on our countertops,|quot| said Dick Hartley, who founded the store in 1961. He now co-owns the store with his son, Steve. |quot|A lot of the merchandise is ordered by the dozen or half-dozen, so things are always changing.|quot|

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|ret|Prior to founding the store that bears his name, Dick Hartley worked as a variety store manager for TG|amp|Y and S.S. Kresge Co., which later became the Kmart Corp.

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|ret|Originally, Dick's 5 |amp| 10 occupied 2,000 square of retail space on Commercial Street. In 1973, however, he decided to purchase one of two Ben Franklin stores in Branson, which was located at 103 W. Main St.

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|ret|The store had more than 9,000 square feet of retail space and was located in the heart of downtown Branson, which helped increase walk-in traffic. Purchasing the store, however, did have its risks.

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|ret||quot|Wal-Mart had come in a few years earlier, and it was hard on the variety stores,|quot| said Dick Hartley.

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|ret|In 1975, the second Ben Franklin store in Branson closed. Dick's 5 |amp| 10 continued to thrive, however, because of its unique retail concept.

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|ret||quot|We fill a niche in the market here,|quot| said Dick Hartley. |quot|You can find items here you can't find anywhere else.|quot|

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|ret|The inventory at Dick's 5 |amp| 10 indeed runs the gamut. Shoppers can find hardware, cooking supplies, women's lingerie, games, toys, sewing and craft supplies, and just about everything in between. Many of the items recall a bygone era.

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|ret|In the toy section, for example, shoppers can find items such as Lincoln Logs, old-fashioned Tonka toys, metal erector sets, colorful marbles, jacks, hoola hoops and cap guns.

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|ret|Shoppers can find a bit of nostalgia over in the cooking section as well, which contains items such as reproduction jade-green glass cooking bowls that were popular more than 50 years ago.

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|ret|The sewing and craft area contains everything from wrist pin cushions to quilting kits while the women's lingerie section contains original TG|amp|Y counters, which hold dozens of old-fashioned cotton undergarments.

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|ret|Dick's 5 |amp| 10 also contains many souvenir and gift items for tourists, who account for two-thirds of the store's business, according to Steve Hartley. Many of these items are produced or manufactured in the Ozarks.

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|ret|Customers who come to Dick's 5 |amp| 10 can expect a shopping adventure. There's no telling what might be found on the next aisle or hanging overhead.

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|ret||quot|I always tell people to look up, because if they don't, they'll miss one-third of the store,|quot| said Steve Hartley.

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|ret|A large collection of historic World War II aviation art prints hangs from the ceiling. Each bears the autograph of a man who participated in the event being depicted.

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|ret|The store also contains a collection of arrowheads from the White River, Ark., area, dozens of autographed prints of baseball legends, a pre-World War II cap gun collection, an old-time green-handled kitchen tool set and a wide assortment of wooden washboards.

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|ret||quot|A lot of people come in here just to look at our collections,|quot| said Steve Hartley. |quot|It's all part of providing the total shopping experience. We have things that interest both the young and the old.|quot|

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|ret|Dick Hartley, who is now 76, credits his son Steve for helping Dick's 5 |amp| 10 stay in business. Steve Hartley spent 10 years working for Dillard's Inc. in the South before he moved back to Branson in 1993. He began working alongside his dad and five years later he became the store's co-owner.

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|ret|Although working alongside a family member might be challenging for some, the Hartleys seem to mesh well, with Dick handling the finances and Steve tracking and ordering most of the store's inventory. Handling the inventory at Dick's 5 |amp| 10, however, is no small task because nothing in the store is computerized.

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|ret||quot|I manage this place by walking around,|quot| said Steve Hartley. |quot|I just walk around and see what needs to be done. I'd rather do that than pour over pages and pages of computerized inventory sheets.|quot|

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|ret|Although Steve Hartley tracks and orders inventory, Dick still helps select the items the store will carry, many of which come from vendors he's developed relationships with over the years. The two also travel to numerous trade shows each year in search of new merchandise.

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|ret|The Hartleys are considering expanding their store by adding a second story or basement shopping area. However, they haven't yet calculated if an expansion would be cost effective or determined if they could find the workers needed to fill out their 15-member staff. In the meantime, it's business as usual.

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|ret||quot|Our objective is to capture more tourist and local shopping dollars by doing a better job than our competitors,|quot| said Steve Hartley. |quot|We want to provide better merchandise, better service and have a better atmosphere. I think we do that. Our store is truly unique.|quot|

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