Robcyns, a popular Alexandria store in the Bradlee Shopping Center, will close at the end of April, and owner Meghan Herzing plans to sell children’s and women’s clothing and toys online.
“COVID has changed everything — the way people shop brick-and-mortar stores,” says Herzing, who bought the shop a month before the pandemic began.
Robcyns is a spot where you can quickly pick up a baby gift or find ballet leotards and shoes. Since the pandemic, fewer people are popping in, instead opting to shop online, Herzing says. She tried to find a smaller, more affordable space but had no luck.
“I’m crushed. I have the best customers in the world,” she says. “We love our customers and will miss them.”
Robcyns, which has been in the Bradlee Shopping Center since 1986, is currently running a liquidation sale with 30 percent off everything except sale items and special orders.
Herzing says after the weekend, the discount will go up to 50 percent off. The store will close on Saturday, April 27.
Herzing will switch her business model to a robust website that she plans to build. When her new website, robcyns.com, comes online, Herzing says she won’t carry school uniforms or Boy Scout or Girl Scout uniforms.
The website will carry infant items, children’s clothing, and toys. Herzing will also expand and sell more women’s clothing and jewelry. While she says she’s still “feeling it out,” she expects that she will do deliveries locally, rather than shipping items. “It’s just easier to drop it off.”
Herzing says she wants to work more closely with ballet studios to offer what they need. And she’s looking forward to spending more time with her 19-year-old daughter, Maggie.
3660 King St., Alexandria
Feature image by Colleen Kelleher
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