After a planning and implementation process that took over three years and involved over 130 focus groups, MooseSkunk announced that it is closing its Midtown Detroit brick and mortar store after just three months.
“We have to accept what the marketplace is telling us,” says Jennifer R. R. Reynolds, Chief Conforming Officer of the craft and artisan company founded in 2012. “There’s apparently a big market for brick, but people just aren’t buying mortar.”
She reports that the store has sold over 170 bricks at an average cost of $3,340 apiece, but that only one customer to date has even inquired about mortar.
“When she was told what mortar is,” says Reynolds, “she acted surprised and quickly left.”
Brick profits alone are not enough to keep the venture afloat, and after briefly considering replacing mortar with glutton-free scones, the company decided it would make more sense to close up and re-examine the entire concept in Detroit.
For now, the stores in Brooklyn and San Francisco – which have been more successful selling mortar at $5400 an ounce – will remain open.
