Game plan shift draws loyal fans

Betty Harrell bought Laura’s Cards & Gifts in January 1995, when its main focus was greeting cards and gift wrapping.

Then in 2000, Gambles Gift Gallery vacated the space next to Harrell’s in the Fox Grape Plaza. She acquired the extra space, opened a doorway in the wall that separated the two rooms and doubled her sales floor. The split-level store now has about 4,000 square feet.

“I got rid of about $15,000 worth of greeting cards,” Harrell said. “And then, I just gradually morphed into home decor upstairs.”

Harrell kept a selection of greeting cards and added purses, bath and body products, gourmet tea and coffee, and home decor items such as candles, clocks, wall hangings and nativity sets.

But the largest dedicated space is for items that started on a whim.

“Four years ago, one of my reps came to me and said ‘Why don’t you start doing collegiate memorabilia? Nobody in town is really doing that,’” Harrell said. “So I started it with a little corner, upstairs in the front window.”

Winning combination

The sports-related items were a huge success, and Harrell bought more and more, until they almost covered the entire lower half of the store.

Many universities are represented, including Missouri-Columbia, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, Kansas and Kansas State, Nebraska and Arkansas, as well as professional sports team such as St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs.

Memorabilia from local schools is hard to come by, because in the case of Missouri State and Drury universities, those schools have their own gift stores and keep a tight hold on the licensing.

The team inventory is diverse, from baby mobiles to hammers, from laptop cases to coolers. Customers can buy a trinket for $2 or a basketball scoreboard clock for around $200.

Brian Cheever, of Springfield, is a lifelong MU fan who attends every home football game and enjoys collecting anything with a Mizzou logo.

“I have a basement full of stuff, and about half of it came from [Laura’s Cards & Gifts],” he said. “I usually go in once a month. If they get a bunch of new stuff, they call me.”

Jesse Hanson, of Springfield, was born in Oklahoma and has been an OU football fan ever since.

“I have thousands of dollars invested. I’ve been buying hats, probably, for the last 15 to 20 years,” Hanson said. “But here in the last five years, I’ve really upped what I’ve been buying.”

Hanson has collected countless OU logo items including furniture, lamps, clocks, blankets and rugs.

Besides Laura’s, he said, “You won’t find a whole lot of OU stuff. And if there’s anything I want, she’ll order it for me.”

Hanson said his wife Shawanna also has become a big fan, and the child they will soon adopt already has some OU baby clothes on special order.

“Every school has its own area here,” said Harrell, who is a sports nut in her own right. Harrell attended Kansas State and has a Willie the Wildcat figurine in her office.

She loves college football, the Chiefs, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Missouri State Lady Bears. “I won’t tell you who I root against because I carry them,” she said.

Popularity contest

Sally Phipps, who has worked at the store since October, said she spends a lot of time listening to customers to get a feel for what items and services will yield more business.

“We do free gift wrap, so that’s a big plus,” Phipps said.

“They can buy their card and their gift, and have it wrapped, and they are out the door. People like that,” Phipps added.

In the past few years, Laura’s Cards & Gifts has jumped on a number of popular trends, Harrell said. When the Red Hat Society was peaking in popularity, about three years ago, the store had a large display in the front of the store that attracted members from throughout the Ozarks.

Experience has shown, Harrell said, that in order to insure a new line of products is successful, you must make a statement.

“You don’t just put two or three little items out and say ‘We carry that’,” she said.

Laura’s Cards & Gifts

Founded: 1993

Owner: Betty Harrell

Address: 3250-C E. Battlefield, Springfield, MO 65804

Phone: (417) 882-0001

Fax: (417) 877-9552

Web site: Coming soon

Products: Cards, gifts, home decor and sports memorabilia

2005 Revenues: $450,000

Employees: 6

Customer Comments

“I have thousands of dollars invested,” Jesse Hanson, University of Oklahoma fan

“I have a basement full of stuff,” Brian Cheever, University of Missouri-Columbia fan

Up Close with Betty Harrell

Q: Why did you keep the store name, when you don’t know a Laura?

A: “It sounds better than Betty.”

Q: What types of people buy items in your store?

A: “The thing about the business is that there’s really nothing that we sell that anybody has to have. It’s all discretionary income.”