STORE FOCUS

SassyBB

IN THIS FEATURE: Introduction Focus Focus II Vitals

he SassyBB concept is the brainchild of owner and Fashion Merchandising professor, Kerry Szymanski. Her background and credentials are impressive and extensive. Kerry was a tennis pro for 15 years with the USPTA and then she worked as a coach. She received her undergrad degree at Syracuse and her MBA at the University of Oregon in Finance and Marketing. Kerry worked for Bally Total Fitness Corp and she also worked with Harry & David for a while. She then worked as a Director of Duty Free stores in the U.S. airports. She was hired on September 10, 2001 and the very next day, the September 11th tragedy occured so the job only lasted for six months. Szymanski then began working for an ad agency in Chicago and realized that Chicago and working for others was not a good fit for her. With the determination to start her own business, she moved to South Florida with no job, no contacts and no place to live. She knew she wanted to start a business that would fuse design with her marketing and public relations background. And she wanted to build the company from the ground up. The concept of the store came about because she wanted to create a place where Kate Spade meets Build-a-Bear. Kerry realized that there are other companies that do the same thing. "Target and Coach make great bags, I can't compete with that market. So where my niche comes in is by the sewing. You design it yourself and it is one-of-a-kind." Kerry explains. She wanted the name to be a lasting brand and hopes one day to have franchises all over. When asked how she came up with the name, Kerry says "Sassy describes the bags and my nickname in college was BB." She is very excited about the fact that now people from anywhere can now enjoy designing their own bags via the internet. Sassy BB now offers a web site in which you can create your own unique bag and have it shipped to you. There are also gift certificates available. So you don't have to live in South Florida to get that one-of-a-kind Sassy BB experience.