At 10:30 a.m. on April 30, Wendy Love got a call that brought her out of retirement.
The owners of Stillone Enterprises, who bought her Love’s Leathers motorcycle gear shop in September 2006, called to say they were going to shut the Ridgefield business down within 30 minutes.
“There were some decisions made (by Stillone Enterprises) that brought some concerns about the solidity of this company,” said Love, who sold the business in hopes of retiring and finding a slower pace of life.
Love’s name was still on the 8,500-square-foot building’s lease. But she was attached in other ways.
“I had wonderful friends who wanted to be back (working) here and customers who enjoyed coming here,” Love said. “I just didn’t want to disappoint them. So you just put your big-girl panties on and deal with it.”
The store closed for six hours. The next day, Love and a group of supporters got things running again under the legal name Wendy Love’s Co.
“We came in with not even a calendar on the wall,” Love said.
Financial records were gone, along with phone and Internet service and a customer database.
The store’s expansive inventory of leather gear and novelty gift items was nearly gone, and replenishing it during peak riding season was a challenge, said Susan Fries, who handles the company’s public relations.
Love has no information on the company’s performance during her absence, but said in August the store reached 84 percent of its 2006 sales.
“I think it’s a miracle,” she said with a laugh, adding that motorcycles are in demand this year for their high gas mileage.
The business first reached $1 million in sales in 2005, and had 22 percent annual growth from 2000 to 2006 under the leadership of Love, who said she reinvests her profits in the business.
The company employs 12 people, about half of them full-time. All donated 15 hours of work during the store’s reopening.
In the store, music from the 1950s and ’60s plays and there’s a fridge full of soda, plus coffee and homemade goodies for visitors to eat while they chat with sales staff.
“We position ourselves as their friends,” Love said. “We love our customers and sales naturally follow as a result of that.”
The business hosts events, such as football game screenings, live music and motorcycle runs, some of which are fundraisers for local food banks and injured bikers.
Love started the business
in 1990, selling goods at
street fairs. It grew as she discovered a niche customer base in the motorcycling community, and she had her first storefront by December 1999.
“I loved working with the bikers because of their loyalty,” said Love, a former rider. “They’re straight shooters. … Leather wasn’t my love, but the people were.”
Wendy Love’s Co. Wendy Love, owner 360-546-3114
Charity Thompson can be reached at cthompson@vbjusa.com.
