Do You Own What You’re Building? — Weekly Retail Tidbits #246
Originally published as Tidbit #246.
“Storms make trees take deeper roots.”
— Dolly Parton
Do you own what you’re building?
2008–9 was a hard time. My retail business was inside a group of shops called Southern Market, and I watched many of my neighbors close their doors. It scared me. What had felt like serious competition shifted overnight. We needed one another to survive.
So I changed my attitude. I wanted other merchants to have sales as much as I wanted to have them. The business on top of which all our businesses were built — Southern Market itself — had to have enough of us succeed in order to stay open.
That experience shapes a lot of how I think. I know it’s hard to have neighbors who compete. The worst experience I had was with a new SM merchant. She bought into one of my biggest lines (I had about $40K invested at the time) and she started stocking the same things. Merchandised a few feet away, she outpriced me by one penny on everything.
Working shoulder-to-shoulder with other merchants taught me a lot about focus, attitude, and what I could actually control.
Recently The Painted Tree (TPT), a similar concept to Southern Market, announced it was closing all of its 60+ locations nationwide and filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Vendors got the email on a Tuesday and had ten days to clear out their booths. Some vendors had merchandise in multiple stores across the country. How do you even begin to pull all of that back in ten days? Some couldn’t even get inside — landlords locked the doors. Others walked in to find merchandise had been stolen. Vendors are losing April sales, prepaid rent, and deposits. My heart goes out to every one of them.
Businesses built on the backs of other businesses are inherently risky.
Some retailers grow on social media platforms. But if your business is built on top of a platform, you don’t own your audience. Social media can shift in a split second — and has.
The online equivalent of TPT for manufacturers? Platforms like Faire. On platforms like that, manufacturers are the product, not the partner. Same goes for Amazon.
So what can you do? Understanding is the first hurdle.
Own your website. A heads up — if you’re built on Shopify, leaving isn’t simple. When I transferred mine off, it took 60 days to get the domain released. Your URLs, backlinks, and search rankings are tied to Shopify’s structure, so leaving is a much bigger project than you’d expect. A better approach: build on WordPress on your own domain, then link out to your Shopify, Wix, or Squarespace storefront from there. Plenty of hosting companies can help.
Own an email list — and use it. Social media should be secondary. Never primary.
Work with your reps. I know the monetary perks of big online wholesale platforms pull hard. But there’s a reason those platforms don’t share full information between manufacturer and retailer — the platform wants to be the owner, and the structure is built to keep it that way.
Reps are true partners. Bridge builders. Reps share information in both directions because we are genuine extensions of two businesses.
Yes, working with humans can be harder than jumping online at midnight to place an order. Your customers feel the same way about Amazon.
Is the effort worth it? That’s rhetorical — but sit with it. It comes down to how you identify. And identity has the strongest pull of all.
Thanks for reading. It isn’t always easy to write each week, but it is a privilege. Our Tango team appreciates you. I appreciate you.
xoxo,
♥AmyFay
Tech Tip — The Quiet Shift in Google AI Mode
Google shifted something in AI Mode last Thursday — a small technical change with a bigger implication for how shoppers find your store.
When a shopper uses Google’s AI Mode (the conversational search that’s replacing the list of blue links) and clicks on your store, your website no longer takes over the screen. It opens in a panel next to the AI. The AI is still right there. The shopper can flip back and compare you against three other stores in seconds.
In the old world, a click was a commitment — you had their attention from the first glance to the back button. In this new world, a click is a browsing tab. They’re comparing, not landing.
What this means for you: your Google Business Profile is suddenly the most important piece of real estate you own online. That’s the data AI Mode uses to decide which stores to recommend in the first place. If your hours are outdated, your photos are three years old, or half your categories are blank, you’re getting skipped before the shopper ever sees your site.
The fix takes fifteen minutes. Log into business.google.com, update your hours, upload five new photos (phone photos are fine), and fill out every category that fits your store. Do it before lunch.
The stores that get cited by AI Mode are the ones that gave Google clean, current, structured data to cite. That’s a fixable problem — today.
3 Tango Tidbits — Mother’s Day
FacePlant Dreams — Mother’s Day
FacePlant is always the perfect Mother’s Day gift — for Moms and grandmothers alike. Bamboo so soft it feels like being wrapped in love. A robe, a pajama set, a nightgown — something Mom puts on and doesn’t want to take off.
Back to basics this week: the pink core collection. Classic. Familiar. The piece you can hand over on May 10 knowing she’ll actually wear it.
Brigitte knits her own bamboo fabric — proprietary, not open-market cloth — which is why it feels different from anything else in her drawer.
Whispering Willow — Mother’s Day
Last week I introduced you to our newest Tango manufacturing partner, Whispering Willow — Julia and Wayne’s handcrafted natural apothecary out of Lincolnton, NC. I’m thrilled to be an extension of their team. And thank you to those of you who have already placed opening orders with Mother’s Day in mind. That’s fast work on a brand-new line.
Top tip for the Mother’s Day gift wall: start with the Lavender Neck Wrap. In Whispering Willow’s own words —
Our Lavender Neck Wrap provides calming aromatherapy while easing tension and tightness in your neck, shoulders, and back. The soft cotton flannel introduces a gentleness to your skin while the heat from the organic flax seeds settles deep into your muscles. The calming aroma of organic lavender flowers fills the air, leaving you grounded, settled, and at peace. Our Lavender Neck Wrap helps make the most of those special moments when you are able to create a little time and space for yourself.
A nice complement to the neck wrap is their lavender eye pillow — a wonderful aid for rest, meditation, or simple relaxation.
Somebody on your customer’s Mother’s Day list is a mom recovering from surgery, a mom going through treatment, or a mom who is just plain worn out. That neck wrap is already the gift she is looking for. She just doesn’t know yet that you carry it.
Cobblestone Living — Mother’s Day
Cobblestone has jewelry — and I want to point you at one piece this week: the Scarlett necklace. The statement piece of jewelry for Mom.
The Scarlett has been one of Rhonda’s strongest sellers. It’s the kind of necklace that finishes an outfit without taking it over. Wearable. Memorable. Giftable. The piece a daughter hands Mom on May 10 knowing she’ll wear it that afternoon.
Beautiful pieces that feel intentional without trying too hard — which is exactly what Mother’s Day gifting does.
Retailer Toolbox
Free Math Tools — margin, markup, sale price, open-to-buy, and a refund checker to spot return losses before they eat your quarter.
Ready to Shop? Click HERE.
Shop IRL (in real life) at Tango Showroom! 🥳
We are open daily!
Monday — Friday from 10:00 — 4:00
AmericasMart: building 2, floor 10, suite 1000b by the round elevators
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
— Mother Teresa
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Hug the moms in your life! xoxo, |
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With heart eyes on finding things we ♥!
January Market, 2026
♥ Moss & Embers — Burns, TN
♥ Passion on Paper — Knoxville, TN
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Also from AmyFay
Sweet Tree Jewelry — handcrafted clay earrings in school colors and team themes.
Caroline B Cook — children’s books teaching virtues through story.
Questions? [email protected]
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