The Pacific Northwest was the birthplace of two retail behemoths, Amazon & Costco, that can fulfill a spectrum of consumer needs from books to tires to private label vodka. If price & convenience are your shopping priorities, there are few options better for timely delivery of products needed for everyday living. However, if you desire to purchase a product requiring superior customer service for proper selection, curated seasonal selections, or special, unique characteristics that will make a birthday present recipient smile, personalize your wardrobe or home, or facilitate a passion pursuit there is no place better to shop than a local, specialty retail store.
The competitive advantage in the marketplace possessed by companies like Amazon, Costco, and Walmart are the prices they are able to offer consumers through volume purchasing from manufacturers and distributors. Specialty retailers have the ability to simultaneously operate profitable, successful community enhancing business models through being agile in their product selections procuring small lots of products that are crafted with attention to detail, fill lower demand specialty segments in the marketplace, and/or require knowledge and training to sell.
IBA has had the honor and pleasure of being the Pacific Northwest’s market leading business brokerage firm for the facilitation of the sale of specialty retail businesses in Washington & Oregon since 1975. The businesses we have sold in the past provide an excellent illustration of the rainbow of beautiful colors available for successful entrepreneurship and potential venues for achievement for founders in new geographic areas.
Hobbies, passions, and sports are fertile grounds for specialty retail entrepreneurship. Transactions completed by IBA involving companies that satisfied consumer demand in this area include The Quilting Bee (https://quiltingbeespokane.com/), a large format store catering to sewing enthusiasts drawing customers from Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and British Columbia; Fisherman’s Marine & Outdoors (https://fishermans-marine.com/), an iconic multiple location chain in Oregon supporting outdoor enthusiasts seeking to catch unique varieties of fish (Salmon, Steelhead, Sturgeon, etc.) and shellfish (Dungeness Crab, Geoducks, Razor Clams, etc.) that are not found in abundance in many other states. Crow’s Feet, now Between Evergreens (https://betweenevergreens.com/), a store for the biking & skiing enthusiasts in the high desert of Central Oregon. Winthrop Mountain Sports (https://www.winthropmountainsports.com/), an outfitter for Nordic sports in the slice of paradise that is the Methow Valley bought by Olympian, Eric Bjornsen. Many of the businesses sold by IBA are one of a kind entities built utilizing the vision, execution, and effort of their founders. IBA also frequently sells time tested franchise business models either as new franchise sales through our franchise brokerage division (https://ibainc.com/what-we-do/franchise-sales/) or established franchise locations like the Play It Again Sports location (https://ibainc.com/blog/nesha-ruther/the-story-of-rick-bauman-play-it-again-sports/) in Woodinville, Washington, which was one of the highest performing franchises in its system when IBA facilitated the sale of the business.
Passions which have enthusiasts in virtually every family are eating and cooking. IBA has sold numerous businesses over its fifty year history that cater to people who enjoy these activities. Some of these transactions have included Kitchen & Company (https://ibainc.com/blog/nesha-ruther/the-story-of-harry-caraco-kitchen-company/), the place where people who love to cook shopped for many years in Seattle; Stan’s BBQ (https://stansbarbq.com/), the place for Kansas City style BBQ on the Eastside and for Chiefs fans to watch their team as a group in Seattle; and Rocking Horse Bakery (https://www.rockinghorsebakery.com/) & Celine Patisserie (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60878-d12632217-Reviews-Celine_Patisserie-Seattle_Washington.html), two of the best bakeries in Washington. A current IBA listing features one of the best butcher shops in the Seattle metropolitan area. A place that commonly has a line out the door on holidays ranging from Memorial Day & the 4th of July to Thanksgiving & Christmas of home based chefs seeking high quality products that will have family & friends asking for seconds at dinner tables.
Next to food, the second most common products purchased regularly by consumers are clothing . Apparel is something that is commonly desired to be felt and tried on prior to purchase. Fit and materials matter. Who among us, does not have a favorite shirt, sweater, dress, or pair of jeans that is sought to wear on a regular basis. Similarly, ever person I know has made a clothing purchase that never makes it out of the closet. IBA has sold many clothing boutiques including Flirt (https://www.shopatflirt.com/), a place for finding fun & night on the town apparel in Ellensburg, Washington; City People’s (https://ibainc.com/blog/david-garfield/the-story-of-judith-gille-city-peoples-mercantile/), and a chain of Mephisto Stores (https://ibainc.com/blog/nesha-ruther/the-story-of-michael-la-moria-mephisto-shoes/) where I personally shopped for a new pair of sandals before heading to my son’s college graduation in Miami, Florida. With the Mariners in 1st place, I would also be remiss in not mentioning my friend, Michel Brotman’s store, Simply Seattle (https://ibainc.com/blog/nesha-ruther/the-story-of-michel-brotman-simply-seattle/), which I helped him sell to retire. Simply Seattle remains the place to go for Mariners, Seahawks, Sounders, and Kraken apparel. It is also evidence of how a local retailer can catch a wave when a city experiences success on the playing field or has an affiliation with a movie or telephone show, like the Alpine Blossom (https://ibainc.com/blog/david-garfield/the-story-of-joanne-corbet-richter-alpine-blossom-gift-shoppe/) did when Twin Peaks was the hot topic in classrooms, at office watercoolers, and around kitchen tables. An adjacent space to apparel is jewelry, another retail niche where IBA has successfully represented business owners in the past, including the 2025 sale of LOLiDE (https://www.lolide.com/), a jeweler specializing in engagement and wedding rings for the LBGT community.
Retail in 2025 is not limited to brick & mortar stores. E-Commerce entrepreneurship allows family-owned companies to compete successfully by providing specialty products that are not cost effective to stock for local consumers alone or producing high enough revenue to warrant attention by big box retailers and online retail giants. The spectrum of online retailers IBA has successfully sold in the past is as varied as the types of old fashioned candy found in a Manzanita Sweets on the Oregon Coast, my father’s favorite destination for licorice, and includes E-tailers ranging from Northwest Treasure Supply, who sold metal detecting & prospecting equipment, to Chasing Treasure (https://ibainc.com/blog/nesha-ruther/the-story-of-karen-mollison-of-peek-a-boo-creations-chasing-treasure/) who curated one of the largest selections of music boxes, jewelry boxes, and watch boxes found in the nation. IBA’s E-commerce company sales also included Direct to Consumer Manufacturing companies like Tom Bihn (https://www.tombihn.com/), a venue for entrepreneurship that is ripe for engagement currently with the present presidential administration’s push for increased domestic manufacturing and the creation of a safer harbor for business activity through the intelligent implementation of tariff policies.
In closing, I would like to advocate for shopping local and small retail in your community. The dollars you spend at those businesses create employment opportunities, stabilize real estate markets, generate tax dollars to fund schools & social safety net services, and enhance the quality of life in our worlds.
IBA, the Pacific Northwest’s premier business brokerage firm since 1975, is available as an information resource to the media, business brokerage, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, legal, accounting, banking, and wealth management communities on subjects relevant to the purchase & sale of privately held companies and family businesses. IBA is recognized as one of the best business brokerage firms in the nation based on its long track record of successfully negotiating “win-win” business sale transactions in environments of full disclosure employing “best practices”.