SOUTHERN PARK MALL Kiosks: Can't beat the location

Carts and kiosks give small businesses a chance to market their wares to mall shoppers.
THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
BOARDMAN -- With all the millions that big retailers like Kohl's and Target are spending on glittering decorations and splashy advertising this month, how can a small business even hope to compete?
The answer, for some entrepreneurs, is to set up shop in a mall cart or kiosk right outside the retail giants' doors.
That's what Dennis and Melissa Russell of East Liverpool decided to do with Bow Wow Bakery, their home-baked dog treat business.
The young couple is leasing a cart on the concourse at the Southern Park Mall to market their selection of biscuits, cookies and brownies for dogs, and sales have been steady since they opened for the season in early November.
Melissa Russell said she and her husband already run a pizza shop in West Virginia. They came up with the doggy treat recipes through trial and error, testing each selection on their own dogs, then baking up large batches in their pizza shop oven.
The couple introduced the homemade treats to the public at a craft show this fall. "The response was so overwhelming, it gave us enough confidence to try the mall," she said.
Available in gift packs and individually, the selection includes bad breath biscuits for Fido, thick, rich-looking brownies, and frosted cookies that look good enough for a human to chow down.
Customers ask often about the treats that look like chocolate because they know cocoa products are generally bad for dogs. She explains that Bow Wow Bakery uses another doggy-safe ingredient to duplicate the look and taste of chocolate.
Stuffed bears
Lauren Ondash and Brad Anderson, both of Boardman, have stuffed more than 1,500 Teddy bears and other fuzzy toys for customers since they opened Teddy Bear Factory in the center of the mall concourse a year ago.
The business consists of an eye-catching fluffing and stuffing machine and a cart to display the animals available for stuffing and more than 50 outfits for the finished creations.
Ondash said she and her father, Jeff Ondash, were impressed when they saw a similar operation while vacationing in Florida. They found the equipment and materials for sale on the Internet, made the investment, and opened at Southern Park immediately after Thanksgiving 2001.
Demand was strong enough during that Christmas season that the owners decided to stay in the mall year-round. Lately they've branched out into offering children's parties, providing the entertainment by stuffing a toy animal for each guest.
First time
Step 2, a Streetsboro manufacturer of toys, mailboxes, and lawn and garden equipment, is selling its wares on the mall concourse for the first time this year.
Sara Pekar of Youngstown, who took a temporary job as Step 2 sales clerk, said children love to try out the toys on display.
The exhibit is so inviting, in fact, that some parents mistake it for a children's play area. "We have to tell people that we don't baby-sit," she said, laughing.
Step 2 toys and equipment are available in stores, but Pekar said the mall sales center is offering the merchandise at lower, warehouse prices.
Waiting list
Pam Ferguson, marketing manager at Southern Park Mall, said the center has stores and businesses operating in up to 18 carts and 28 kiosks year-round. The mall had a waiting list for the Christmas season as early as October.
National retailers, including Hickory Farms, American Greetings and the various wireless telephone providers, occupy many of the kiosks. Kiosk businesses either buy or build the booths they use and also pay rent to the mall; cart owners rent their display booths from the mall.
Simon Property Group, which owns the Southern Park Mall, doesn't set a limit on the number of carts and kiosks. "You're only limited by your imagination," Ferguson said, adding with a smile, "and the number of electric sockets."
vinarsky@vindy.com