LI Network Makes Rival Shop Owners Friends

by Keiko Morris
Newsday.com

Long Island, NY - Trusted business advice is hard to come by, but much to gift shop owner Kerry Punzi's surprise, she has found a wealth of it from an unlikely source: potential competitors.

"I didn't even realize that other retailers would want to talk to me," said Punzi, owner of Giftology and The Cook's Fancy, both in Rockville Centre.

About a year and a half ago, a group of gift shop owners and managers came together to brainstorm about the effects of Vera Bradley -- one of their most popular brands -- opening its own retail stores and launching an online retail site.

About eight people, including Punzi, attended that meeting and another one a year later. Ideas were exchanged. But the true benefit for several participants was a trusted network of retail merchants that evolved.

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