Jennifer Parrott never expected "coming home" to mean becoming part of hundreds of other families, but that is exactly what happened when she returned to Oxford, NC to run Nan’s Young Fashions.
At the time, the store was already known as "Nan’s Young Fashions" and was owned by her mother, Nan Howells. Looking for a partner to join her, Nan reached out to her youngest daughter. She wasn’t playing favorites, it just made sense. "My one daughter wasn’t in the area, the other is a nurse," explains Nan. "Jennifer was in the Raleigh area and her background helped."
An NC State graduate with a degree in Textile Apparel Management, Jennifer was working as a store manager for Pier 1 Kids and was on a track to become a visual merchandiser. "Pier 1 was going through a lot of changes, so there was uncertainty there, and coming home made sense…so I made the transition," says Jennifer referring to the 2007 move.
With her return, the store also began to make a transition. Started in 1986 by Nan and her husband Robert, the store was strong on quality products, and began building a broad customer base. Key brands such as Feltman Brothers and Peaches and Cream were maintained and emerging brands such as Properly Tied, Bailey Boys, Angel Dear, Kissy Kissy and Luigi have been constantly added. The result is a product mix that certainly lives up to the store’s theme, "Traditional Looks to Trendy Styles," and a customer base that continues to grow, and continues to return. In fact, it is a customer base that has now become generational. "We have children that are now grown up and mothers that are shopping for their children," says Jennifer. "And mothers who are now grandmothers that continue to shop," adds Nan.
But Nan’s Young Fashions is more than just products. It’s family, friends, and confidence in knowing the quality and fashion you are buying. "The advantage of shopping small is you get a more personal shopping experience where we may even know the child’s style and size," says Jennifer. "In fact we are often asked, "do you remember what size he is?" – "Do you think she’d like this?" continues Jennifer.
This knowledge of the customer continues to bring them back. It also helps as the store expands its online sales and efforts. Locals often peruse the website – www.nansboutique.com before heading to the store, and rely on Jennifer and Nan to make the styles all work together. The stylish selection of clothes has also attracted online customers from across the country with customers from New York and Texas leading the way. "We have a large customer base," explains Jennifer. "Our local Granville community leads the way, followed by the Triangle, Henderson and other local communities, as well as a strong following in southern Virginia. Then the online customer takes us beyond the region."
While the customer base continues to expand, the customer service continues to be personal. From the sizing to the styling, Nan’s sets itself apart. They also work closely with brands such as Luigi to assure the store has one of a kind looks and styles, and also provide monogramming and embroidery to allow customers to further create a personal look. The result is a fashion community – "Nan’s" – that becomes shared by the customer and Jennifer and Nan. This community is lived out through online efforts such as "Show off your Nan’s" where customers post photos of their children styling in their new clothes, and in fashion shows thrown by Nan’s and their retail neighbor C2 where customers volunteer to serve as fashion models for the latest trends and looks. The connection between Nan’s and C2 is more than brick and mortar, as many of Nan’s customers graduate to C2 they age into pre-teens.
From newborns to preteens, boys to girls, Nan’s is the place to shop for clothes in Oxford, NC. Customers become friends, and friends become lifelong patrons, often returning for the next generation. But one thing never changes, the care and love that is part of every purchase…A bond that is truly Nan’s and Uniquely Carolina. For more information on Nan’s you can visit their website at www.nansboutique.com, call them at 919-693-6813, or engage them in social media at facebook.com/nansyoungfashions or on instrgram @nansyoungfashions.