Shoppers scouring for good buys at bargain magnet C-Mart can see the changes on the sales floor.
Workers replaced handwritten price tags with bar-coded tickets. Computerized machines are in, while old-fashioned cash registers are out. By January, with a click of a mouse, customers should be able buy discount designer clothes and furniture now found only at C-Mart's Joppatowne and Landover stores.
C-Mart's new owners want to build the company into a national retailer. That is a challenging proposition: trying to balance the roots of this paper-and-pencil enterprise against ambitious goals to become a big chain.
The payoff is great if their gamble succeeds, yet these Baltimore entrepreneurs acknowledge that the risks are huge.
After acquiring controlling interest in the family-owned business this summer, C-Mart executives are working to hold on to the culture that made the flea market-like store one of the region's most reliable spots for deeply discounted Kate Spade and Prada handbags.
The executives think that modernizing the operation should provide added power in offering better prices and selections while appealing to more shoppers who expect Internet shopping and other conveniences.
C-Mart seeks out liquidated designer merchandise from department stores and other retailers. The new owners hope to broaden C-Mart's appeal beyond its two stores.
"We're aiming to grow a business and maintain the spirit of what has built this business," said Brad Bondroff, 29, C-Mart's new president. "At the same time, we think there's work to be done in the back office and the Internet to change the business and leave the brand intact."
Bondroff and his partner, Daniel Shuman, say the move is necessary to expand the mom-and-pop retailer online and add more stores in larger markets such as Miami, Las Vegas and New York.
As founders of the Baltimore online liquidator the Asset Store, Shuman and Bondroff plan to bring their technological expertise and success to C-Mart.
But the men are not tinkering with C-Mart's tried-and-true formula: deep discounts, brand-name blowouts and its signature hand-scribbled newspaper advertisements.
They know that any changes at a company that has generated a loyal following for more than 30 years could alienate core customers. And they know that for every Starbucks, there are more businesses that have failed at trying to replicate local success at the national level or maintaining the brand's identity under new owners.
