)
Micheala runs Taba Naba, a boutique gift shop in the seaside town of Felixstowe. After years of running a successful business in London, she moved with her family in 2021 and opened Taba Naba in 2024, a tiny, colourful Tardis of a shop packed with children's toys, clothes, accessories, towels, cards and more.
Business was promising. Locals loved the range, and visitors adored finding things they "couldn't just get anywhere".
But Michaela had questions she couldn't ignore:
How do you cope with the seasonality of a seaside town? How do you make a tiny space feel bigger and more shoppable? How do you stop your products literally fading in the window? And how do you use data and strategy, not just instinct, to buy smarter?
She entered the Retail Makeover Mission and won, gaining access to a team of experts in retail, data, visual merchandising and PR.
What they discovered wasn't about turning Taba Naba into something completely different. It was about clarifying what it already was, and then making every decision line up with that.
The Brand Problem No One Talks About
When the expert panel first walked into Taba Naba, one thing was immediately obvious: Michaela has great taste, cares deeply about her community, and has curated beautiful, thoughtful stock. The children's area flows as the child "grows" up the shop, the towels are bright and joyful, and the cards are a clear bestseller.
But like many independent retailers, she was missing one crucial tool: a clearly articulated brand world she could use to guide decisions.
Before anyone moved a shelf, visual merchandising expert Jon set Michaela some homework: create a mood board for Taba Naba. Not a corporate brand document. Just a visual capture of the feeling of the shop, the kind of families and customers it serves, the environment and community it sits in, and the colours, textures, symbols and stories she naturally gravitates towards.
Michaela's board came back environment-inspired, family-focused and rooted in nature and mindfulness. Think moons and stars, coastal calm, gentle colour, and community.
That mood board became her visual language. A filter for questions like: "Does this product feel like Taba Naba?" "Would my customer love this, or do I just personally like it?" "Does this prop/furniture/window idea look like it belongs in this world?"
From that point on, every decision, from windows to buying, could be checked against something real, not just a vague feeling.
The Window That Was Working Against the Shop
Michaela's window should have been one of her biggest assets. Instead, it was a headache.
Two big problems: sun bleaching, strong midday sun was fading colours and packaging so badly she was losing stock and having to rotate products weekly. And a community plant bed outside the shop, part of a local "edible Felixstowe" initiative, had grown so tall it was literally blocking the view into the window.
The easy answer would have been: "Move the plants, strip the window, keep it minimal." But that would have meant working against something that was actually very Taba Naba: community, nature, shared space.
Instead, Jon chose to work with it. He reimagined the window as a garden story. The external planting is echoed inside with a trellis and climbing "vines". Products "grow" off the structure like fruit, flowers or vegetables. The window becomes a playful, layered scene, not just a flat display.
At the same time, he addressed the sun problem strategically. Choose products better able to withstand light (like sun hats) for the front. Rotate sock deliberately, not randomly. Consider practical solutions like a pull-down blind—which could even carry the logo or a playful line like: "We love the sun, our products don't!"
Crucially, he encouraged Michaela to stop planning windows at the last minute. Big brands plan windows at least three months ahead, tied into a marketing and retail calendar.
The same principle works for independents: mark key selling moments (Christmas, Easter, half-terms, local events, tourism peaks, back to school), decide which moments deserve real investment and which can be simpler, and plan when each window will go in.
For Taba Naba, that meant recognising that gift-giving happens all year round, birthdays, new babies, thank-you gifts, and using the window to tell those stories, not just Christmas and summer stories.
The Uncomfortable Truth About Space and Stock
Behind the charm of a tiny, packed gift shop lies a tougher reality: small spaces can't afford to be inefficient.
Data expert David dug into Taba Naba's sales figures and found clear seasonal peaks in August (tourist season) and December (Christmas gifting). That part made sense. The uncomfortable part? Some ranges weren't pulling their weight.
One standout example was the pet accessories area: big, visually dominant fixture; lovely product, fun to look at, very "Instagrammable"; but only around 0.2% of total sales.
In other words, the lowest-performing category was taking up a disproportionate amount of room. For a shop where customers already felt it was "crowded" at busy times and could struggle to see everything, that space wasn't just underperforming, it was actively blocking better-selling categories from shining.
That meant reviewing ranges category by category (not just item by item), shrinking or removing low-performing ranges (however cute they are), reconfiguring fixtures so customers could move more freely and see more, and creating "hot spots", intentional focal areas where the most desirable, most relevant, or most seasonal products live.
Hot spots became a key tactic: a front hot spot just inside the door, linked to the window story; a central table acting as an "indoor window", telling a focused seasonal or themed story; clear sightlines so customers are drawn through the shop, not stuck at the front.
Same products. Same four walls. But a completely different sense of space and opportunity.
Watch the Episode: This space and window transformation is featured in Episode 2 of the Retail Makeover Mission.
Buying at Spring & Autumn Fair With an Actual Plan
By the time Michaela attended Spring & Autumn Fair, she wasn't just wandering the aisles hoping inspiration would strike. She had a mission.
Together with Claire and Samantha, she had identified three priority areas: candles and home fragrance, toys and plush, and Christmas and seasonal gifting.
And she was layering that on top of what she'd already learned. Her customers are primarily women, often buying for children, family and friends. She has strong sellers already, but there are gaps in price points, age ranges and self-purchase versus gift. Her brand story is nature-inspired, thoughtful, and family-focused; so she needs product that feels like Taba Naba, not just anything that's cute or seasonal.
At the show, the experts coached her to shop differently.
Plan the visit, don't wander: Give yourself at least two days if you can. Day one: walk the aisles systematically, up and down, taking notes and photos, asking questions. Day two: go back to the stands that fit your brand and strategy, and place considered orders.
Ask smarter questions: When visiting stands, Michaela didn't just say "I like that." She learned to ask: What are your minimum order quantities? What are the lead times, how quickly can I reorder if a line takes off? Are these ranges evergreen or strictly seasonal? Can we discuss trade discounts or introductory terms?
A key moment came when she hesitated over a higher-priced, heirloom-style toy, a hero piece likely to retail over £100 when she's used to £80–£90 ceilings.
With the experts' help, she reframed it as a hero window item (perfect for Christmas), as something grandparents and family members see long-term value in, and as a piece that builds the story of the children's range, not just another SKU on a shelf.
At the same time, she realised she could unlock extra seasonal sales without blowing a separate Christmas budget by adding seasonal games and add-ons to ranges she already stocks, using existing suppliers for festive versions (rather than searching from scratch), and broadening categories like bags so they work for both self-purchase and gift.
Instead of buying on instinct alone, Michela was now buying to a story, a strategy and a customer.
Turning Momentum Into PR
It wasn't just product and layout that got a makeover. Michaela also started to think like a brand others want to talk about.
Working with PR consultant Sharon, she drafted her first PR plan, which immediately raised useful questions: Who should be writing about Taba Naba, and when? How do you approach press without feeling like you're "bothering" them? What do they actually need from you?
Together they mapped out different press audiences and purposes. Trade press won't bring customers in directly, but positions Taba Naba as a serious retailer to suppliers and potential partners.
When a brand launches the "next hot thing", you want them to think of you. Local newspapers and magazines bring in local customers and visitors. County glossy magazines and lifestyle titles need longer lead times but can offer powerful visibility. Online and digital usually have shorter lead times, great for last-minute angles and updates.
The golden rule: they won't all run the story at the same time, and that's a good thing. Your plan should stagger when each type of outlet hears from you.
The other big unlock was practical but crucial: imagery.
Sharon's advice was to build a library of high-quality images (around 2MB is a good benchmark): store interiors and displays, a strong, friendly photo of Michaela herself, and supplier product shots on clean backgrounds (ask suppliers, they will have them). Think ahead to Christmas and other key seasons; glossy magazines need visuals early.
With a plan, a calendar and a bank of images, PR stops being a vague "someday" task and becomes another strategic tool, just like windows, layout and buying.
Watch the Episode: This buying-and-PR chapter of Michaela's journey is featured in Episode 4 of the Retail Makeover Mission.
Small Changes, Big Shifts
Michaela didn't knock down walls, double her floorspace or invest in an expensive refit.
Instead, she defined Taba Naba's brand world with a simple mood board, turned a problematic window, and an overgrown community planter, into a storytelling garden, used data to confront the uncomfortable truth about underperforming categories, created hot spots so products are seen, started planning windows and in-store displays via a calendar, approached Spring & Autumn Fair with a clear buying brief and financial questions, and began building a PR plan and image library so others can tell Taba Naba’s story too.
The impact was immediate. Customers now see a clear story in the window, find the same product echoed on the first hot spot and again deeper into the store, and are gently reminded two or three times, making them far more likely to buy. Sales of key hero categories like towels and highlighted jewellery have grown as a result.
Same products. Same place. Smarter journey.
What's Stopping You?
Independent retail is hard, especially in small, seasonal seaside towns. Footfall peaks and troughs, limited space, rising costs, customers who can buy almost anything online.
But Michaela's story proves that you don't have to do everything, or spend a fortune, to move forward.
You need clarity on who you are and who you serve, a store layout that reflects that (not fights it), a buying strategy rooted in data and story (not panic or guesswork), and a simple calendar for windows, events and PR.
The question isn't whether your shop is "good enough". The question is: are you clear enough on who you are to make the right next move?
The Retail Makeover Mission is a video series supporting independent retailers with practical, tested strategies. You can watch Michaela’s full journey, explore all episodes, and download free toolkits to apply these ideas in your own store here.