Arlington’s Little Southern Kids Boutique, LLC, owned by town residents Christopher and Elizabeth Miller, is expanding in growth spurts despite the ongoing pandemic.
For the past five years, Elizabeth Miller has operated the business online and (since last year) at their shop in Arlington’s Depot Square. Her husband came on board with the company full-time over the summer.
“For what was kind of my hobby at first is now turning into our new lifestyle,” she said.
When she started the business, Miller was working full-time for Baptist Memorial Health Care. The couple’s two children were in elementary school.
“I just was looking for something else fun to do, something to make a little extra cash on the side,” she said. “Now it has grown into so much more.”
For the first several years, she did everything on her own, including designing the store’s children’s clothing lines, amassing more than 6,000 Facebook followers in the process.
After having their third child in 2018, she quit her job with Baptist to stay home with the baby and devote more time to the business.
Then the pandemic hit last year. People were staying home and shopping online.
“So, everything really began growing then, and I began looking for an opportunity to expand. But I was scared to jump in completely,” she said. “It had always been a dream to have my own store one day, but prior to 2020, I never imagined that it would be a possibility.”
Within the first month of opening, they were quickly outgrowing the space.
“Once I opened the shop in September (2020), it was growing faster than I could even keep up with,” said Elizabeth Miller, who began to delegate some responsibilities – including designing the new clothes – to other employees. “The business we’re in is very competitive, so we had to find ways to be different and unique and stand out.”
Her team created custom outfits like their best-selling matching sibling sets that were different from the styles seen in other parts of the country. Popular variations are based on different holidays and birthdays.
“We try to keep our prices competitive,” said Christopher Miller, who left his position as business development manager with Maxim Healthcare Services last month to work full-time at the boutique, handling marketing and development. “There’s a real niche for the kids’ clothes here in Arlington. We have a lot of young families.”
In April, the Millers moved across the street to a 2,200-square-foot spot at 6280 Chester Street, Suite 103.
“We love Arlington. We love the small-town community,” Elizabeth Miller said. “And the location we’re in now is perfect for us. I don’t foresee that we will outgrow that location.”
In the larger space, the couple has expanded their product lines to include Melissa & Doug toys along with women’s clothing and decorative home goods.
“We’ve just introduced the women’s and home goods side within the last two or three weeks, so we’ve got to build up that inventory,” she said. “But the kids clothing and what we design is really our main focus.”
In addition to selling the clothes at their shop and online, the Millers also wholesale to other boutiques across the country.
They are confident that if the pandemic intensifies again and forces store closures, their online sales will easily support the business.
Their hope is to open more locations in the future, possibly in Bartlett and/or Middle Tennessee south of Nashville.