Today we’d like to introduce you to Katy Sandlin.
Hi Katy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My employer, Ken Zerbe, and I began working together in January 2023. He is quite the investor and entrepreneur and tasked me with reviewing manufacturing businesses that may interest him in buying. I came across the Beachables listing in late October, and we were both blown away by the Beachable Beach bag and the potential of the business that had yet to be tapped into. After a brief in-person review in December with the owners, Mary and Dan Watters-Ken, I decided to proceed with the acquisition. Mary, the previous owner and founder of Beachables, has quite a great story. She came up with the idea of the Beachable Beach Bag while on vacation to Hawaii about four or five years ago. She felt there was a need for an all-in-one beach bag that could carry your items, stay put on your chair while you are roaming a resort or grabbing a drink, and also dry yourself off while remaining fashionable, trendy, and customizable, given our embroidery and monogram options. Since acquiring the business, we are excited to keep the foundations of what Mary has created and work towards a bright future where we offer not only stripes and colors for beach dresses and coverups for women and little girls (who doesn’t love a mommy and I look) but also look at bringing in other fabrics outside of the Turkish cotton to offer elevated simple and neutral looks that can be taken from day to night. We want to bring in more color, pattern, and stripe options before losing focus on the Beachable Beach Bag. We ensure clients know we can customize embroidery and monogram the bag to make it theirs while also offering custom embroidery for wholesale divisions such as resorts and private labeling.
Beachables has quite a hometown feel on the East Coast, predominantly in Charleston-I think we see it as becoming a national brand not only for beachgoers, vacationers, and travelers but as we continue to develop and create new designs and ideas; the sky is truly the limit for Beachables. My personal story is that I have over a decade of experience in retail management and corporate retail. I completed my MBA two years ago, dabbling in finance and payroll, and thus found myself working with Ken.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
I don’t think retail is a smooth road; we see demands changing constantly due to social media and what is considered “trendy” for the season. Our current challenge is becoming more significant than where we are, getting Beachables into the hands of resorts, clients on the West Coast, private label branding, etc. (I had never heard of a Beachable until stumbling upon the business listing). Another challenge is always remaining at the forefront of consumer minds and staying true to who we are as a company while meeting those trends every year. We want to develop our niche while offering more to complement our brand and who we are.
Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
I have over a decade of retail management and corporate retail experience. I’ve had my hand in everything a retail store needs to run correctly, such as visual merchandising, hiring, training, client retention, personalized shopping experiences, outfitting, and wardrobing. While at one point, I thought my career would catapult me into the fashion industry, I took a step back and decided to pursue my Master’s in Business as I felt it was more important to know all of the basics of a business-especially retail-to make it successful. I took a step away from retail and found myself in payroll and finance while also creating foundations for a start-up business alongside an excellent team. I then found myself working alongside Ken, doing various tasks and being given the freedom to develop business strategies and start-up foundations. I then reviewed businesses that would be of interest to invest in. My role at Beachables is running everything and ensuring we have the proper foundation to make Beachables a nationwide brand catering to our niche. I am most proud of my educational and professional accomplishments. I was lucky enough to have worked under many different retail brands and always left with more skills and understanding than before working with a specific company. I have a natural drive to succeed, and I will do anything to ensure my team is happy, our company is booming, and we are always doing right by our consumer/client base. It is essential to gain feedback from your client base and ensure your team is a part of significant decisions.
So, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you before we go? How can they support you?
What a great question! Beaches is in a work-in-progress era. People will give us time as we make changes in-store and online! We will get there sooner rather than later. Visit our locations if you are in Charleston-King St and Clements Ferry. Tell your friends about our unique 3-in-1 Beach Bag. We will have more colors and patterns coming mid to late summer! Please give us feedback; that is important to us; we want to know what you’d like to see in our stores! Since this business acquisition, we are always open to collaborations as we dial in on who we are and what we want to be. Buy a bag for yourself and gift one as a friend! Follow us on social media, as we have some exciting things in store this year that are in development, and we would love to share them with you along the way! I am more than happy if clients want to contact me personally. I would love to talk about this business!
Pricing:
- $108 for a blank beachable bag
- $118 for embroidered beachable bag-can go up depending on customization preferences
- $50-100 for our women’s apparel
Contact Info:
- Website: www.beachables.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beachables/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Beachables/
Image Credits
Jack Birchfield
