Reny’s

 

Store Name Renys
“A Maine Adventure”

Business Type General Merchandise Stores

NAICS Code 452

Location 33 Main Street, Damariscotta, ME 4543

Nearby Businesses The Damariscotta store is next to Waltz Pharmacy, Maine Coast Bookshop and Café, Skidompha Public Library, multiple banks, gift shops, several galleries, a gas station, and multiple gift shops and clothing stores.

Owner/Manager Mary Kate Reny – Marketing and Operations

Special Store Activities Renys has two annual sales: the Belfast Tent Sale (July-August) and the Early Bird Sale (November). Stores also participate in community events like Damariscotta PumpkinFest and Regatta, Pirate Rendezvous in June, Oyster Festival in September, and Christmas Fest in December.

Year Opened 1959

Website http://www.renys.com/

Phone (207) 563-3177

E-mail feedback@renys.com

Community Profile Located in Lincoln County, Maine, on the Pemaquid Peninsula, Damariscotta is a popular tourist destination in Maine. The Main Street Bridge over the Damariscotta River connects the community to Newcastle, Maine. Some major sites of interest in Damariscotta are the Chapman-Hall House, Thompson Ice House, and Whaleback Shell Maiden. The local library, the Skidompha Public Library, was recognized by the White House as one of the top ten museums and libraries in the United States, receiving the National Medal for Museum and Library Service in October 2008

         
Products Sold & Niche Developed

The Renys franchise is a family-run department store with name recognition across Maine for being a Maine Shopping Adventure, selling name-brand merchandise at discounted prices. As a typical department store, Renys carries everything from shoes and clothing to home furnishings and food. Each of the 14 Renys stores is a retail anchor in its respective downtown area. Store sizes range from the largest in Bridgton at about 35,000 square feet, to small stores in Damariscotta at around 2,000 square feet. Renys is well-known across Maine as a store that provides good prices on first quality products.

Market Segments Served

Renys does not have a particular market segment because of the variety of merchandise they offer. Young, local families on small budgets as well as tourists and out-of-state visitors purchase from Renys based on the products the store sells and the name-recognition across Maine. The store does not target any particular income level or demographic to their store; instead, they rely on the name familiarity and niche marketing throughout all of Maine to sell their products.

Contributions to the Business Community

Renys has 14 store locations across Maine: Bath, Belfast, Bridgton, Camden, Damariscotta (main store), Damariscotta Underground, Dexter, Ellsworth, Farmington, Gardiner, Madison, Newcastle (Office & Distribution Center), Pittsfield, Saco, and Wells.

Each Renys store manager and all Renys employees work at stores in the community they live in. “People know that Renys cares about our communities, and that we are invested in them,” said Mary Kate Reny, a Renys owner who works in marketing and operations at the main office and distribution center in Newcastle. Mary Kate Reny serves on a number of downtown boards and downtown development organizations that help bring business back to the downtown area through business support and downtown activities.

This year the Damariscotta Renys store partnered with other local businesses to host a Columbus Day weekend PumpkinFest and Regatta in 2008. The event was entirely organized and funded by local businesses, and attendance was beyond the organizers’ expectations. The festival included pumpkin carving, pumpkin painting, a pumpkin catapult, and pumpkin boat races. It is through events like this that Renys stores remain important retail anchors in downtowns across Maine.

Review by Kim Ukura, UW Extension CCED