By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Sammy McBride’s roots are in eastern Kansas. But her business roots are sprouting a little further west. Five weeks ago, McBride opened her new boutique, Sugar Co., at 1401 Main Street in downtown Great Bend. It’s now the second storefront, with another shop opened in Hays last August.
“The store is actually named after my grandma,” McBride said. “We call her ‘Shug,’ which is short for Sugar, so that’s where we got our name from. She’s actually been out to the Hays store to see it – she’s 86 years old, so I love that the business can be dedicated to her.”
Sugar Co. specializes in the full gamut of women’s clothing: dresses, tops, jeans, shorts, shoes, and accessories. The store is the only local retailer of Kendra Scott jewelry, and also offers FP Movement, which is activewear by Free People. The goal is to support a wide variety of lifestyles.
“Something that is really unique to us is just a very curated collection,” McBride said. “We have smaller drops and releases that are really fine-tuned and hand-picked. We’re not getting in a ton of mass product, we’re getting in something that is really tailored that we are launching new arrivals weekly, and it’s a very cohesive drop.”
McBride and staff stay up to date with the latest trends. Sugar Co. will have a continuous flow of products moving through to match the trends and the seasons.
“Social media is such a great tool, so that’s made the world so much smaller when it comes to tracking trends,” said McBride. “I also travel to markets. When you’re at the markets, you’re seeing those recurring trends that you know are going to be hot for that season. You might go to market and buy for three to six months at a time. That helps you plan out your drops, then we buy some items weekly. If something is doing well, I can go find something similar or re-order and add that into another drop. It’s a very dynamic process.”
A Topeka native, McBride moved to Great Bend to play volleyball at Barton Community College. She moved on to Fort Hays State University where she earned a bachelor's degree in marketing. She spent more than a decade working for the same retailer, but when that company went out of business, McBride had some big decisions to make.
“I went on some interviews and did some different things, and none of it really felt like me,” she said. “I talked to my husband and he said, ‘If you don’t try now, you’re never going to do it.’ I just decided to go for it and start the business. It’s been really great, and I’ve loved every minute of it.”
A lease opportunity became available in Hays, and McBride opened the first Sugar Co. shop there last summer. Living in Great Bend with her husband, Brett, an assistant baseball coach at Barton, she began thinking about the 1401 Main St. location in Great Bend last December. When an opportunity at that property again presented itself this spring, McBride pounced.
“I decided I want to have a store here because I live here and have a little bit more of a home base for the store,” she said. “The Great Bend store actually operates almost like a warehouse, too. It receives a lot of our inventory, so then we can product plan to put it into collections and launch dates for our website.”
The store’s grand opening featured a line down the block. McBride ran out of bags before the event was over. Sales are still going strong five weeks later.
“The support of the Great Bend community has been so awesome,” she said. “People really showed up and have continued to show up. I think small businesses, what we and so many others in town do, that’s what helps make your town unique. Remembering to shop locally makes a big difference in your community, and we have definitely seen that here.”
Sugar Co.’s Great Bend store is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. The boutique is closed on Sunday and Monday. Customers can shop 24/7 by CLICKING HERE. Follow the latest sales on the Sugar Co. Facebook page.