Right of Fashion

This style trailblazer brought her small-town boutique to the big city.

Business Flair: Stacey Pecor is a natural-born entrepreneur. Her father, a serial entrepreneur, taught her to think big while her mother, the owner of a small clothing store in Burlington, Vermont, exposed her to the world of fashion. "I can remember going to my first fashion boutique," recalls Pecor. "The noise and the sounds and the lights and the color and the people... it was very glamorous to experience something like that." In 1991, Pecor introduced her own dazzling creation: Olive and Bette's Co. Inc.

Fashion Focus: Pecor's goal was to bring the latest styles to fashion-starved women in Vermont. After succeeding there, she expanded Olive and Bette's to New York City's Upper West Side in 1995, becoming one of the first to bring trendy clothing to that neighborhood. To stay cutting-edge, she continually shops the market from coast to coast, securing top designers like Theory along the way. She has since opened three more locations in New York City, carefully choosing high-traffic places that attract a variety of consumers ranging from teenagers and stroller moms to Julia Roberts and Sarah Jessica Parker. Pecor, who has received mentions in Life & Style and Newsweek, plans to open more stores in the city and expand her existing website.

Inside Out: Over the years, big-name stores have settled in her territory, but Pecor's focus on quality from the inside out has helped her not only stand her ground, but also benefit from the extra foot traffic. She provides extensive training to her 50 employees on everything from new products to computers. She also keeps careful track of key measurables like sales, and sets high goals. Says Pecor, "Nothing can sit in the warehouse for more than 24 hours."