Get To Know Hello World's J. Lamancuso
How has Hello World evolved over the years?
We've been in business 24 years. I started in 2000 in Center City, Philadelphia. We had multiple stores in multiple neighborhoods. Then as the way people and consumers buy products changed, so did we. That change came along about ten years ago, when the University of Pennsylvania recommended or suggested that we take a look at moving out here to West Philly and we never looked back. So we have really enjoyed the diversity of the neighborhood and the campus life in addition to the residents of West Philly and so here we are 24 years later.
What motivates you?
What motivates me to come to the store every day is both being able to work with the customers as well as the ability to keep the mix of inventory interesting. It's easy to fill a store with stuff. It's a little harder to fill stores with stuff people want. So that's my motivating factor every day.
What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
The most rewarding part of retail is survival. Surviving it. It's, you know, it's changing. As we all know, with the advent of the internet and Amazon and online shopping and all that. Being able to figure out how to stay a viable retailer in 2024, has been a challenge that we took on and embraced and figured it out. Fortunately, here we are.
What unique offerings does Hello World provide?
Our focus on making sure that our products are both attractive and well designed, but also that there's value added to every product. It can't just be pretty. It has to be pretty and worth being pretty, or it has to be a fair price. It goes back to what I said a moment ago about how it's really easy to fill a store with beautiful products, but if nobody can afford them, it's not a very busy store.
Do you have any key mentors that have deeply influenced you?
When it comes to the retail business, I look at the big guys and try to learn from their successes as well as their mistakes. Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn are two of the stores that I've always followed and watched, and made sure that I didn't make the same mistakes they made and also made sure that I see why people still love them after all these years.
What is your favorite thing about Philadelphia?
I think I mentioned earlier it's diversity. It's accessibility. You can get anywhere in ten, fifteen minutes. You know, it's a really usable city. And it's got a strong arts community. And so that's always kept me artistically, as well as from a business standpoint, financially successful.
Where is your favorite place to travel to?
My favorite spot, other than Philadelphia, is the Pocono Mountains, which I go to every Friday, which is why Thursday is my favorite day of the week.
What is a SHOP PENN business you frequent other than your own?
I go to all of them. I try to use them all from the Penn Bookstore, to Wawa, and Spread Bagelry. Franklin’s Table, we eat there a lot for lunch, so you know they're all good, and we're like I said earlier, looking for more. Can't wait for more.