Millbrook Tack is back in the saddle again
by Rick Wilson The Grand Rapids Press
Monday March 30, 2009, 7:18 AM
BYRON TOWNSHIP -- After being an early victim of the credit crunch in West Michigan, Millbrook Tack was to reopen its doors today with new investors, its old sales staff and a tighter focus.
Gone, in particular, are the horse trailers at the former Millbrook Tack & Trailer, which closed abruptly in July after its lender, Fifth Third Bank, cut off its credit line when the store failed to reach required sales and profit targets.
The new general manager and co-owner is Laura Austin, whose mother opened the store 17 years ago. She said she already is hearing from customers who missed the well-stocked tack shop.
"We're really going to be conscious of our pricing and focus on the middle-income customer," Austin said. "You'd be surprised at the number of horses in the area.
"We have a mailing list of 25,000 or 30,000 customers, and that's in a tri-state area."
Austin's brother, Matt Howell, a real estate developer and financial consultant, put together a deal allowing a small group of friends to buy back the business from Fifth Third, which declined comment.
He blamed the trailer business, with its high inventory costs, for dragging down the former business.
The retail shop, at 510 68th St. SW in the Cutlerville area, has been idle since last summer's closing.
"The bank clearly didn't want to hold any more foreclosed properties, so we were able to pay off the mortgage and buy back the assets at a favorable cost," Howell said.
"When we're finished, we'll be in so much better shape because all of the debt will be rung out of the deal."
He said he believes his investors will be more patient than the bank.
"They understand the whole issue has always been inventory control," he said. "And the people we have will be responsible for their own inventory and buying what they know they can sell."
A U.S. Commerce Department reported last week that retail sales were nudging up slightly for the second straight month, an encouraging sign. But those behind the business note "horse people" are similar to golfers and boaters, whose passions sometimes overrule their pocketbooks.
"For horse people, their horses are their lives," Austin said. "They're going to do without a whole lot of other things before they get rid of their horses."
She believes, even with consumers feeling the pinch, mainstays such as leather care and horse care products will make the business profitable.
"It's like all of the pieces are there, and all it takes is someone to pick them up and put them together in a way that makes sense," Howell said.
