P. Graham Dunn’s factory retail store has experienced significant growth in sales, despite a down economy. The Dalton, Ohio-based gift supplier seems to have found the key to increasing traffic and profits for its on-campus store, which was up 30% for 2012 and about 15% this year as of October.

Located in a unique situation as the 22,000-square-foot retail store next to the P. Graham Dunn factory and about a half-hour from towns in the area, the store is truly a destination, Retail Operations Manager Todd Krist said.

P. Graham Dunn President Joe Knutson observed that the company as a whole as “grown every year even through the recession, albeit at a slow pace through the recession, but our retail store has really taken off. Wholesale is showing growth as well, but it’s not as dramatic as retail.”

Krist has brought in brands such as Pandora, Vera Bradley and Melissa & Doug as well as products such as scarves and even small Amish furniture pieces, all with the aim of attracting younger shoppers and families, and non-Christians who might be not know what to expect from a store that principally carries Scripture-themed products. 

The store also puts “a lot of time, effort and money into our displays,” said Krist, who cited examples such as antique tables or a lamp made of folded books, and hosts free-to-the-public events such as fall festivals and Easter egg hunts.

As a company. P. Graham Dunn plans to officially launch its touchscreen technology for its laser personalization program at the Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market, which runs Jan. 7-14. Although the process still requires a trained operator, the customer can handle the design and personalization of the product at what is essentially a “self-service computer,” Krist said.

Learn more about P. Graham Dunn’s success in the forthcoming December issue of Christian Retailing.

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