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April 27, 2001/Iyar 4, 5761, Vol. 53, No.30
Valley boutique owners expand to California
BETH OLSON
Staff Writer
In six years, Mike and Tara Shapiro have expanded UhOh Boutique from one Scottsdale location to three: Hilton Village, La Mirada and their newest location at Kierland Commons in North Scottsdale. They are opening a fourth boutique in Newport Beach, Calif., in the summer of 2002.
UhOh is an upscale retail store that carries designer clothing, casual European sportswear, American sportswear and jewelry, according to Tara, who serves as buyer for the three stores. Tara shies from calling the boutique a department store as she feels the business is more of a specialty shop.
"What we're trying to do is bring a New York or Los Angeles store here to the Valley," explains Mike. "We're trying to be fashion forward. Our philosophy is all about service - giving the customer what she can't get in any other location here in the Valley."
Tara agrees that the key to the success of their stores is the focus on customer service. She says that UhOh will take care of pick-up and delivery of clothing, overnight alterations and special orders for customers. Mike adds that one of their biggest customers never even comes into the store.
"We load up our van and take over rolling racks of clothes and she selects what she wants," he explains.
Mike and Tara's success in the fashion world is something new to both of them. Before moving to the Valley six years ago, the couple lived in Chicago, where Mike worked as a stock options trader, and Tara sold residential real estate.
Mike says that they moved to the Valley for a change in lifestyle.
"We never saw each other. We were blessed with success, but to what end? We didn't have any life," Mike recalls.
So, after 10 years in Chicago, Mike and Tara returned to Arizona where they both had attended college at Arizona State University.
While each of the stores is distinctly UhOh, says Tara, each location carries products suited to the area of Scottsdale in which it is located. Mike emphasizes that all of the salespeople know what is in each store.
"We'll move it depending on where (the customer) wants it to be, so they don't have to be hassled."
UhOh Boutique locations are at Hilton Village, 6137 N. Scottsdale Road; La Mirada, 8900 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, B-5; and Kierland Commons, 15210 N. Scottsdale Road.
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