Staxx News

Changes are underway at Staxx. Find out what’s new for downtown Springfield shoppers.

By Katie Pollock Estes

Big things are coming to one of downtown Springfield’s retail mainstays. Staxx (331 South Ave., Springfield, 417- 866-2900, shopstaxx.com) is dramatically expanding its women’s merchandise, and making some significant changes to make room for it.
One of the new additions is an expansion of intimates, such as Spanx undergarments, adorable Hanky Panky brand intimates and a variety of lace camisoles and similar items. And for those of us who could use an entire closet just for the things we buy for our feet, Staxx is also expanding its shoe selection. Women’s accessories, jewelry and handbags are increasing as well.

Most importantly, though, owner Meghan Chambers says the new and expanded merchandise is meant to broaden the store’s market to include women of different sizes and ages (including an older market). That reflects changing tastes and demand from Staxx’s customers, as Chambers has discovered by seriously crunching the store’s sales numbers. “When we first opened eight years ago, we thought most of our customers would be college students,” Chambers says. “We

quickly realized that wasn’t the case, and we adjusted.” Since then, Chambers hasn’t stopped studying her customers and their spending habits. She saw a lot of demand for certain products (including an overwhelming demand for women’s merchandise), and as a result, she’s expanding her store’s offerings to reflect that.

And how does Staxx make room for it all? Well, Chambers says they’ve decided to eliminate the men’s merchandise entirely. Moving forward, the store is going to focus on women’s merchandise only. While male shoppers might be a little bummed to see their side of Staxx disappear, there is a bit of a silver lining: The store is offering steep (really steep, like 50- to 75-percent-off) discounts on men’s products from now until the merchandise runs out. Customers can stock up on discounted men’s clothing because as soon as it’s gone, all the new women’s goodies will be on the shelves and ready for you to peruse.

Chambers says that the client base at Staxx is spread across a huge age range. There are college (and high school) girls who shop there, as well as their mothers and women of every age in between. The moms who love to shop at Staxx don’t necessarily want to be dressing like their daughters, Chambers says. Making everyone happy makes for difficult buying, Chambers says, and the store needed more space to display the newly expanded women’s merchandise. The store isn’t dropping any of its current lines and brands; it is picking up more.