Acton boutique satisfies culinary tastes

ACTON -- As a teenager, Willa Breese knew two things: She loved to cook and would someday run her own business. Today, at age 39, her youthful dreams have been realized in the form of Kitchen Outfitters, a thriving kitchen-supply boutique that opened last fall in Acton.

The shop, snuggled into a 1,200 -square-foot retail space in the Acton Woods Plaza at the intersection of routes 2A and 27, has quickly become a destination for the growing number of men and women who can't get enough of the latest ceramic knives, Staub enameled cast iron cooking pots, All-Clad pans, Viking mixers, and hundreds, if not thousands, of utensils and small appliances that make up the estimated $75 billion-a-year market for specialty kitchen housewares.

In the age of the celebrity chef, the remodeled ultra-kitchen, and a craving for healthy, homecooked foods from around the world, the market for Breese's wares is burgeoning, an early sign that her decision to follow her entrepreneurial muse was a sound one.

She estimates that the store is on track to make $290 per square foot in sales per year, well ahead of her original projection of $265 per square foot. After a strong start, she is expecting 20 percent growth in its second year of operation.

Though Breese knew early on what she wanted in life, her career path meandered before leading her to the Acton boutique. Both her parents were entrepreneurs, and she inherited a yearning to be her own boss. After graduating from high school in Hanover, N.H., she went to Paris to study cooking at La Varenne, a noted culinary institute.

She worked as an assistant pastry chef at the Ritz-Carlton in Boston for a year and spent the next six years in professional kitchens. She also worked for a year at Kitchen Arts, a kitchen-supply shop on Newbury Street, then enrolled at the University of New Hampshire, where she received a dual degree in sociology and resource economics.

Her business interest piqued, she took office manager jobs in order to learn the variety of skills one might need to run a business. After getting laid off from a civil engineering firm in Stoneham in January 2006, Breese decided the time was right to start her own business.

Rather than opting to open a restaurant, a business with intimidating failure rates, Breese thought back to her Kitchen Arts experience. Her research indicated that the market was hot for kitchen goods and the opportunity wide open in the suburbs. She envisioned a shop where she would not only sell products but share wisdom through product demonstrations, classes, and personal interaction with customers.

But starting a new retail business is always risky. According to Robert Coviello, president of HTI Buying Group, a housewares industry buying group in Rochester, N.H., half of these new retail outlets are gone in the first year, and few make it to five years.

But Coviello, who advised Breese on her plans, believes she has what it takes to make it. "She had done a ton of research before she started," he said. "Most people don't." More than anything, Coviello said, Breese understood that she was running a business, not simply indulging a passion for all things culinary.

Breese spent months traveling to similar shops around New England, upstate New York, and even to Charleston, S.C., to help find the right product mix and store design. She attended industry trade shows to learn about and meet the important vendors.

"Brand recognition is huge for independents," Breese explained in her decision to carry major brands like Viking, Cuisinart, All-Clad, and others. National chains like Williams-Sonoma have started selling more of their own branded items, which enables stores like Kitchen Outfitters to create a distinct identity. And Breese is careful about price points. She purposely offers a wide range of items, characterized as "good, better, best" in the industry.

"I didn't want to be so specialized or high end that 80 percent of the people would come in, turn around, and say, 'This isn't for me,' " she said.

With that said, it isn't unusual for customers to pick up a $189 Japanese carving knife or a $400 Viking mixer without blinking an eye. The store's Try Me station allows customers to play with the various "toys" before purchasing them.

"I don't know any other kitchen store with that kind of variety," says James Corrente, a financial professional from Boxborough and a regular customer. "I love food and I love to cook and they really know what they are talking about there."

From Coviello, Breese knew that her turns per square foot had to be steady and significant. You make money on 20 percent of your merchandise that sells consistently, while the other 80 percent "helps tell the story," Breese said.

Coviello, who spent 30 years in retail before opening his consulting business, estimated that Breese had to come up with $150,000 in inventory to open the shop and that these types of retail outlets, if run efficiently, can expect gross profits equal to 10 percent of revenue in a year or two.

"It's not cheap to get into this industry," Coviello said. "I tell people, `if you want to make a triple digit salary, you probably have to open a 3,500- to 5,000-square-foot store."

For Breese, the visions of future expansion are tempered by her desire to keep the business personal. "I believe in growing the business very gently and naturally, not taking on too much," she explained. "So I'm taking it one calendar year at a time. I'm doing this to be a part of it, not just for the profit."