One Simple Thing You Can Do to Retain Your Staff

By my account, it’s not fall until I’ve watched You’ve Got Mail, Nora Ephron’s ’90s film adaptation of the 1930s Hungarian play Parfumerie by Miklós László. It’s archetypal David versus Goliath: The quintessential Upper West Side bookshop, The Shop Around the Corner, waning to the big-bad Fox Books, purveyor of discounted paperbacks and coffee to-go. Nearly 30 years after the movie's release, its storyline feels as relevant as ever (AOL chatroom notwithstanding), especially when it comes to the fight for independent, personality-driven shops. For experts on specialty retail, there are few sources better than Kate Rheinstein Brodsky, the proprietor of beloved Upper East Side institution KRB.

Much like Kathleen Kelly, the film’s shopkeeper lead played by Meg Ryan, Brodsky inherited her retail prowess from her mother, the late design legend Suzanne Rheinstein. KRB is an exuberant trove of vintage and antique furniture masterfully mingled with contemporary artisan works, and today, at its 10th anniversary, Brodsky shares her secrets to retaining employees, the challenges facing small retailers, and what she’s learned about business from three generations of shopkeepers.

–Mel Studach, Senior Editor, AD PRO

Window Shopping

Mel Studach: When you opened in 2014, did you feel there was a void in the market?

Kate Rheinstein Brodsky: I felt like there was enough space for another voice. I do not ...

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FROM THE ARCHIVE

March/April 1976: Rendezvous at Rizzoli

From a 1976 New York Notebook column, Rosemary Kent posits that the newest, dandiest place to rendezvous is Rizzoli, the international bookstore and gallery.

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