There's a new place to shop for the scrubs hospital employees need for their jobs.
Cool Scrubs opened about three months ago at 428 S. Burdick, just south of Harvey's on the Mall.
Steve Estes says he and co-owner George Magas decided to open the store that is within a block of Bronson Hospital after recognizing there were only three or four places in town to purchase scrubs and none within a block of Bronson Hospital as their shop is. Estes comes from a background of sales and marketing in healthcare, including medical devices, and his partner in the enterprise has an extensive retail background.
The 1,750-square-foot retail space offers not only the colorful clothing required of nurses and other hospital employees, but features stethoscopes, shoes, and more. The store carries well-known brands such as Dickies, Cherokee and Barco all offered at aggresively discounted prices.
The store also has found carrying the right amount of inventory is simpler for it because each of the local hospitals, Borgess and Bronson, has specific colors for its different departments so that at a glance it is obvious in which area an employee works. Knowing those requirements makes it easier for
Cool Scrubs to stock apparel in the colors that are needed.
They also provide unique services they expect will create customer loyalty, such as alterations, embroidery, and emergency services. What constitutes a hospital attire emergency? As an example, a hospital employee commuting from Galesburg or Plainwell has forgotten his or her scrubs. The store will open to sell the scrubs needed so he or she can get to work without driving back home. Cool Scrubs also delivers in such cases.
Cool Scrubs also has worked out a paycheck withholding option for Bronson employees, so that new employees who may not be able to immediately afford the new scrubs can pay for them over time through payroll deductions. It expects to have a similar plan in place soon with Borgess HealthCare employees.
When the medical school opens downtown in 2014 there will be a need for lab coats, which the store also carries, Estes says.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Source: Steve Estes, Cool Scrubs
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