Barrington Outfitters General Manager Stacy Arseneau credits the owners of Barrington Outfitters, Peter and Richard Drucker, with creating the kind of work culture and sense of community that has kept this Sheffield native devoted to climbing the career ladder locally instead of having to look beyond the Berkshires for opportunities. My conversation with Arseneau has been edited for length and clarity
KATY SPARKS
I do a fair amount of online shopping, but when it comes to shoes, I always want to do it in person. A couple of years ago, I was ready to start wearing Birkenstocks, and being able to come into Barrington Outfitters and be expertly fitted by your team made it a great experience.
STACY ARSENEAU
That’s something we really strive for, that when you come into the store you will see a friendly face you recognize because we’ve all been here a while. You’re going to get the best customer service, and then you’ll leave happy and want to come back for maybe some Blundstones next!
SPARKS
One thing that I’m always a little surprised at because I guess I just don’t wander to the back of the store is that you have a very robust selection of outdoor furniture. Tell us about that.
ARSENEAU
We have three separate showrooms in our store. The first two you see anytime you come into the store, which are the apparel and footwear up front and the first of two furniture showrooms toward the back. The other furniture showroom we would guide you up by elevator. In terms of the furniture, we offer full service all over the region, so that means we will deliver your purchase, set it up in your home, and take away all the debris so you can enjoy it right away.
SPARKS
And how is business? Are you affected by any of the tariffs or higher costs of items in general?
ARSENEAU
Because we have such a curated product line that you can’t easily find anywhere else, we’re not feeling too much price pressure in general. We are seeing it a little bit more in the outdoor furniture world of course, which right now we’re kind of out of for the season because we’re getting snow! Also shipping costs are expensive, but in the end, you always want to have the best price for your customer, and you want to make sure that they walk out with the best product. So, we buy what we have to buy, and we make it work for everyone.
SPARKS
Stacy, how did you get into retail? What were you doing before you joined this team?
ARSENEAU
I’m a local and grew up in Sheffield. I went to Mount Everett High School and have wanted to stay local. I own a house in West Stockbridge with my husband, and we have a little baby. Originally, I was going to school for social work, but it turned out it wasn’t something that I was driven toward once I started doing it. I took some time off, and I came to Barrington Outfitters for what I thought was a bridge to my next thing, and it literally ended up being my road. I loved the job in sales the second I walked into it. The owners, Peter and Richard Drucker, are wonderful to work for, and the feeling of community they offer when you come into the store is like none other.
SPARKS
That’s a wonderful segue to the community-based currency that is BerkShares. How long has Barrington Outfitters been a part of this program?
ARSENEAU
We’ve been taking BerkShares longer than I’ve been here, so more than 15 years. And we’ve seen it really trending recently. I think just in the last week alone, we’ve had three or four sales with customers using BerkShares, and it used to be maybe once a month. So it’s really nice to see. We have some younger girls that work in the store who have asked me about it, and I explain that it’s a currency that you keep local, so you shop at local businesses. It just encourages that sense of community. It’s really nice to not only accept it, but to be able to show the next generation how to engage with the program too.
SPARKS
That’s so heartening to hear. Do you think this little uptick might be because more people want to have a truly local impact with their purchasing choices given the economic upheavals the country has been experiencing lately?
ARSENEAU
It could be. Also, the holidays are coming, and maybe people have their local currency saved up and they want to save it to spend for the holidays. But it could also have to do with just what’s going on in the world right now, the feeling of let’s just stay within our own communities.
SPARKS
And do you have any personal favorite ways to spend them?
ARSENEAU
I always love to go to SoCo Creamery with them—who doesn’t love ice cream?!
SPARKS
Are there some business goals you have for the upcoming new year?
ARSENEAU
Barrington Outfitters has been here 31 years, so we do think it’s working! But we’re thinking of modernizing our marketing reach by getting more into social media. That’s something we want to branch into. It’s scary, it’s tricky, but we’re hoping to get there.
