Wilton Business Spotlight: Chou Chou & Petite Chou Chou

Every local business has a story worth sharing with the community. And that’s the belief behind this new, exciting series we’re kicking off at Patch — to shine the spotlight on all our favorite local businesses, and to learn a little about the ones we may not know that well.

Business: Chou Chou and Petite Chou Chou
Owner: Katharine Sanford
Website: shopchouchou.com
Address: 21 River Road, Wilton, CT.

How did you come up with the name?

Chou Chou is a term of endearment in French, and is pronounced “shoe shoe” - the idea came to me in the middle of the night!! I was a french major in college and was opening up a Shoe store - it was perfect!

Why choose that location? Why start a business in this town?

at the time we opened (2001), business in Wilton was limited to a handful of shops. We were one of the first in the new complex on River Road that includes a Gap and Starbucks... Other towns like Westport and New Canaan already had established retail businesses - I was excited to be a part of a new frontier in a growing town!

Briefly, what business are you in?

Women’s and Children’s Shoes and Clothing

What’s the most difficult moment or challenge you’ve faced as a business owner?

Competing with the convenience of online giants is always hard - they can almost always beat us on depth of product and at times, on price, which makes it very hard to be able to stay in business considering our expenses have only continued to increase. However, we make it our priority to get to know our customers, their families, and their specific needs and wants - we know all our customers names, about their kids, their dogs, everything! and we genuinely care about how they are doing and what shoes and clothing they put on themselves - you can’t replicate that kind of personal experience online.

Were there any challenges that made you second guess your decision to be an entrepreneur?

Each year, expenses keep mounting, and business becomes a little harder to do. But our loyal customers are what keep us getting up in the morning and ready to serve!

What’s been your favorite moment or proudest achievement since opening?

Our customers have really put us on the map and make us so proud to be in business. Our favorite experience is when we encourage someone to try a new style or designer - basically to think outside of her box - she trusts us and takes a risk, and comes back the next week to tell us how many compliments she got!! Those moments are what makes Chou Chou special to us.

What’s the most innovative idea your employees or customers have had that you put into practice?

At our tween store, we found that mothers are really crazy with kids school/sports schedules and find it very hard to carve out time to shop for their kids clothing and shoes. So we are starting a new program called Try it On at Home! which allows moms to pick up a bag of 10-15 items that they can take home to their daughters - the clothing/shoes are hand picked by a Petite Chou Chou stylist - the clothes can be tried on at home (after sports and homework) - then whatever doesn’t work gets brought back the next day. The customer only pays for what she is keeping, so the service is meant to be convenient and easy !

How do you deal with difficult customers?

We wouldn’t be anywhere without our customers and we believe that in this day and age, no request is too big or small- we take pride in going the extra mile for our customers and always want to make sure she feels special and loved, no matter what!

How does your business give back or get involved in the community?

We donate to lots of local charities and love to contribute to Silent Auctions. We’ve also been a part of Person to Person’s Prom Dress Drive, which provides shoes and dresses for underprivileged youth in surrounding towns.

Are you a local small business with a story to tell? Send it to us by clicking here.