Tuscaloosa clothing store Ellie Crimson caters to student shoppers in an effort to increase its business while giving back to the community at the same time.
Located on The Strip, Ellie Crimson is a women’s fashion boutique that opened in October 2009. Storeowner Pat Poole said he wanted a fun promotional activity to bring customers in the store, as well as to get involved in the community.
“I wanted to draw attraction to the store,” Poole said. “We wanted to get people to stop in and see what we have to offer.”
As a result, Poole came up with what is now called the Sorority Challenge. Participating sororities are paired each week to play a monetary football game, he said. Teams are awarded points based on how much money its members spend in the store during the week.
Active sorority members, and even alumnae, are given credit toward their sorority’s team when they wear their letters and spend money in the store. Teams are awarded a safety, two points, when $25 is spent, a field goal for every $50 and up to 17 points when members spend $250, Hallmark said.
At the end of each week, the store manager contacts the philanthropy chairs of the participating sororities to announce the winner.
“I’m a man, and football is the way I think,” Poole said. “I thought combining football and shopping would be a neat experience and something fun for the girls to get excited about.”
Poole said there will be a tournament at the end of the process for the top winners. In the end, Ellie Crimson will donate money to the winning sorority’s philanthropy.
“The ultimate thing is that we are giving back to their philanthropy,” Poole said. “A lot of these philanthropies mean a lot to us, so we want to give back.”
Lauren Hallmark, store manager, said the Sorority Challenge is a fun way to get involved in the community and encourage women to shop in their store.
“I think this has definitely helped our business,” Hallmark said. “But we didn’t want it to just be awarding a sorority for shopping. We wanted it to ultimately be about their philanthropy.”
Zeta Tau Alpha’s philanthropy chair, Ashley Shea Abernathy, said she has enjoyed working with Ellie Crimson.
“I have really liked participating,” Abernathy said. “I think [Poole] is a genius for pulling in the sororities and getting them to compete. We love healthy competition, and it gets them good business and gives our philanthropy money too.”
Ellie Crimson has given back to participating sororities by helping sponsor their philanthropy events as well, Abernathy said. As a result, she encourages her members to go to help establish Ellie Crimson in the community.
“We have almost 200 points and all I have had to do is just encourage girls to go,” Abernathy said. “I think we have so many points because I don’t think people realized how affordable it is. Now they are shopping there on a regular basis. I have one girl that goes twice a week to see their new stuff, and they even know her by name there.”
Poole said Ellie Crimson is creating multiple ways to reach out to the community and appeal to many different customers.
“We want to get involved with the community and are working on ways to do that,” Poole said.
The store offers a “buzz word,” or word of the week, for customers on their Facebook and Twitter pages, Poole said. By saying this word, people in the community are able to save 20 percent off an item they purchase in the store.
Ellie Crimson is also teaming up with The Big Oak Ranch and the University’s Beat Auburn Beat Hunger food drive during the week of the Georgia State game. Sorority members involved in the Sorority Challenge will receive points for canned goods and used clothing they bring in to the store.
“Our overall goal is to bless others and give back here in Tuscaloosa,” Poole said. “We have been given so much and [been] blessed with so much so we really want to give back by creating a fun atmosphere for the girls.”
