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DRESSING UP

Oil & Vinegar aims to be a destination for ‘fashion food’

By Molly Knight

Having concluded that the world’s culinary retail landscape was a tad bland, a pair of Dutchmen, John Blogg and his partner, Femke Stevens, set out to spice things up.

The best way to battle bland, they decided, was with oil and vinegar — and a few other choice delicacies.

“We looked at research and discovered people place a very high value on purchasing foods that taste good,” said Blogg, “but most don’t know a lot about oil or vinegar.”

That all happened in 1998. Then, acting on a hunch that quality oils and spices from around the world and presented in stylish stores would stir the hunger of consumers, the two set up a pilot shop in Holland the next year, quickly followed by several more. Since the opening of those first culinary gift shops, Oil & Vinegar has grown into a formidable franchiser, with 107 stores thriving in 11 countries across three continents, mainly Europe. Currently, there are only four stores in America. But the company says it plans to open some 250 new U.S. units by the end of 2007, with an eye on malls in the Great Lakes region and the East Coast, as well as Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas.

In short, the company seems poised to become a mall stalwart.

“We are a fashion store for food,” said CEO Blogg just before a flight in June to Johannesburg, South Africa, for the opening of a first store there.

Oil & Vinegar shelves are stocked with such treats as Italian white truffle oil, raspberry vinegar, pasta, relish and dip. And the company puts considerable effort into making the stores and their fittings attractive. An illuminated back wall, hung with amphoras, the two-handled jars ancient Greeks and Romans used to carry oil or wine, lures shoppers into this taste-test heaven. The wooden fixtures and well-worn concrete floors create a warm, rustic ambience.

“The overall experience is everything,” said Blogg. “The most important thing is for people to enjoy themselves in a store, and at Oil & Vinegar, they do.”

Converts to the cause
In 2002 Lara Schalken and her husband, Wim, were living in the Netherlands when they stumbled on an Oil & Vinegar store. The discovery changed their lives.

“Our senses were just inundated,” said Lara Schalken, who decided to apply for a franchise shortly thereafter. “Walking into that place was like walking into an adventure. It hit us immediately that this store would do well in the U.S., because it was gorgeous and the concept was fresh.”

There was just one problem: no retail or customer service experience. The Schalkens had spent their entire careers working in information technology.

“We had no plans to leave IT, but we just fell in love with the sights and smells and tastes of Oil & Vinegar,” Lara Schalken said. “We were pessimistic about our chances of being selected, but these kind of opportunities don’t come along very often in your life, so we decided to take the plunge.”

Their application was accepted, and the spouses relocated to Texas, took the required two-week course and then, last September, launched their very own Oil & Vinegar store — the first in the U.S. — at General Growth Properties’ Galleria Dallas.

“We at Galleria can’t say enough about Oil & Vinegar and the Schalkens,” said Peggy Walker, general manager of the Dallas retail powerhouse. “In addition to its gorgeous design, its international flair appeals to affluent customers from all over the market. They provide the best in customer service with all their samplings, and one of the owners is always in the store. That makes our customer feel comfortable, and that’s important to us.”

The power of franchise
The company would not disclose sales figures, but its ambitious U.S. expansion plans certainly suggest financial health. And franchising seems to be the key to those plans. Indeed, Oil & Vinegar seeks franchise owners committed to hands-on care of their stores. Not only are these owners responsible for well-decorated storefront windows and eye-catching merchandise displays, they are expected, like the Schalkens, to be physically present during most operating hours, serving customers and mentoring employees. Galleria Dallas, for one, has a soft spot for franchised stores with on-site owners, Walker says, noting that they work well for run-of-the-mill and high-end malls alike.

Besides the Schalken’s Dallas-based franchise, Oil & Vinegar is now in Chicago, at 900 North Michigan Shops; in Madison, Wis., at Greenway Station; and in Missoula, Mont., at Southgate Mall.

“We knew that if we could make it work in a top mall in Dallas, a busy, middle-of-the-road mall in the Midwest and a rural mall in Montana, then we could basically make it anywhere,” said Blogg.

As for the company’s overall U.S. expansion plans, the American shopping center is the “Oily Grail,” says Blogg.

“U.S. malls are ideal because it’s relatively easy to get a rectangular box no bigger than 1,200 square feet,” he said. “And Americans are very interested in experiencing the European concept of enjoying fine spices from places like Brazil, Australia, and South France. They might not get that kind of exposure anywhere else.”

And this is not a store just for the elite, says Lara Schalken. “You don’t have to be a gourmet chef to get it, because at its basis everybody loves food,” she said.

Customers who come to Oil & Vinegar looking to buy a gift are greeted by knowledgeable staff who lead them on an interactive mini food safari and encourage the sampling of a wide variety of exotic foods, such as Indian Curry Mayo Dippers and Mama Africa’s Zulu relish with jalapeño.

“The breadth of product is truly astounding,” said Galleria’s Walker. “Not only do they have the finest spices and oils in unique bottles, but, most importantly, it’s within everyone’s price range. You can get a lovely bouquet of pasta for less than $20, or you can spend $150 for a basket of all the finest products.”

But for all its range of foods from every corner of the earth, the faint of palette need not be put off, says Lara Schalken, insisting, “We never have something from some exotic place just to say we have it — nothing in the store I’ve tasted and gone, ‘blech.’”