UNIQUE RETAIL STORES TAKE FLIGHT

One could say Scott Lukens took a flying leap when he launched his one-of-a-kind retail chain in 1991.
But the idea was firmly grounded on market research, said Lukens, 54, a Clark County businessman who started Backyard Bird Shop in a tiny cottage in Lake Oswego, Ore.

Pacific Northwest bird lovers quickly embraced the store's focus on feeding backyard wildlife. Lukens said he was confident the idea would catch on.

"The support was amazing," he said.

Lukens now operates seven stores throughout the Vancouver-Portland metro area, most recently opening a shop in the Columbia Crossing retail complex in east Vancouver. Selling bird seed and food for other wildlife, along with birdhouses, feeders and garden accessories, the retail chain's combined sales totaled $3.5 million in 2005. Lukens expected to end 2006 with an 8 percent increase.

Not bad for a business that grew from his bird-watching hobby and desire to leave a career that involved mandatory travel.

Career shift
Lukens, a former human resources consultant, didn't want to miss out on raising his two daughters.

"I was looking for a lifestyle change and wanted to combine my passion for wildlife with the ability to be around home," said Lukens, who hatched a plan that depended on his wife, Molly Evans, keeping her marketing job at Hewlett-Packard.

"She was paying the bills," he said.

Lukens furnished and opened his first store with $37,000 from his retirement account. Evans also lent her marketing skills to the retail business by starting a company newsletter now circulated to nearly 50,000 customers. The flier keeps clients informed about store specials and helps Lukens keep track of his patrons.

"We identify where we should open new stores from those zip codes," he said.

Evans joined the business full time in 1995.

The couple also tracks what customers buy. "Nine out of 10 (clients) buy feed for critters in their backyard," Lukens said.

The trend prompted Lukens to start Zbird, a companion business to supply his retail company. Through Zbird, Lukens buys birdseed direct from growers in North Dakota to replenish the bulk bins featured in each Backyard Bird Shop store. Many of his wildlife-loving customers blend their own mixtures from the 14 different varieties of seed the shops carry.

A store recycling program encourages patrons to package the seed in their own rinsed-out plastic milk jugs.

"Our stores go through about 4,500 milk jugs a week," Lukens said.

Birdseed represents about 40 percent of store sales.

Management skills
Though he gave up his corporate human resources career, Lukens said he's continued to rely on his skills in personnel management to maintain his company's staff. Backyard Bird Shop employs 40 people, each with various interests in wildlife and nature.

"Some have biology degrees or they're former teachers or master gardeners," Lukens said.

He discourages employee turnover with full-benefit packages and above-average wages. "If you hire people who have a genuine interest in what you're doing, your business will be successful," Lukens said.

His employees keep customers engaged in the hobbies that help Backyard Bird Shop grow. "We've evolved into a general nature store," Lukens said.

The shops carry pollinating mason bees, ladybug beetles and nematodes for gardeners. But the driving sales force continues to be seed for wild birds, Lukens said. He's aware of big-box competitors that sell giant bags of the stuff. "But you won't get answers to your questions in those stores," he said.

At this point, Lukens doesn't plan to open any more stores. "We don't want to expand outside the (Portland-Vancouver) metro area," Lukens said. "There are only so many stores this area needs."

But he anticipates growing demand for the products he sells. "You might say it was a bird-brained idea," Lukens said, "but with all the concrete and steel we're surrounded by, we need stress-reducing activities. What better release can you find than working in your backyard?"