Wight Elephant Boutique in Greensburg and Irwin wins industry award
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Offering “standout style for the standout girl” has paid off for Wight Elephant Boutique, with locations in Greensburg and Irwin.
The specialty women’s wear and accessories shop was named Pennsylvania’s 2020 Storefront Boutique of the Year in awards hosted by The Boutique Hub & Shop the Best Boutiques, an online industry networking and information source.
Wight Elephant also was runner-up in voting for the best Pennsylvania boutique overall.
“Winning the Boutique Awards means everything to us, especially in a year like 2020,” says president and co-founder Victoria Piekut. “The fact that this award was user-voted makes it all the more special.”
The annual vote is the fashion industry’s only global recognition event for independent retail boutique owners. The awards recognize boutiques across all 50 states, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. Categories include storefront, online, children’s and mobile boutiques, along with overall state and global boutiques.
“The Boutique Awards celebrate retail at a unique time, when many are dubbing a current retail apocalypse, with the closings of multiple notable big box retailers and mall staples,” according to a Boutique Hub release. “However, industry trends show a strong upswing in the boutique retail market. The shop small movement is certainly alive and well as big box retail dwindles.”
“In a time when consumers are choosing experiences over things, and having quality service over finding another piece of fast fashion off the shelf, boutique retailers have found a niche market serving people in a way that goes far beyond trend or price. It’s a lifestyle,” notes Ashley Alderson, founder and CEO of The Boutique Hub.
Dream come true
A former model and current Miss Pennsylvania 2020, Piekut, 24, says she started dreaming about opening a boutique while modeling at the Atlanta Apparel Market.
“During my breaks, I’d run downstairs and see what was trending with the boutique vendors,” she says. “I really had a vision of what I wanted the boutique to be, and I knew where to source merchandise.”
With help from her parents, Jeff and Chris Piekut, who had careers in retail, Wight Elephant opened as an online boutique in October 2016. The Irwin store at 300 Main Street opened in June 2018, with the Greensburg store at 136 S. Pennsylvania Ave. following in October 2019.
The boutique is a true family affair with her brother, Zachary Piekut, also lending his technical expertise to the venture.
With more than 250,000 votes cast worldwide, Piekut says, “It was really cool and really validating to have that voter support from our customers.
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“What makes us different is that we’re not some nameless, faceless brand,” she says. “We make shopping fun for our customers, make them feel happy, help them get away from all the stress.”
The boutique also insures that shoppers won’t run into others wearing the same outfit everywhere they go.
“We only order about six of each item to keep it unique,” Piekut says. New merchandise arrives Tuesdays.
A portion of sales also benefits charitable causes, including those benefiting research and support for those dealing with so-called invisible illness, a term used for any medical condition that isn’t easily visible to others.
Though she is healthy now, Piekut says she suffered from two such illnesses from childhood until recent years.
Some proceeds from the boutique’s elephant charms goes to Kenya-based Save the Elephants.