Everyday Super Discounts on Conant Street in Hamtramck is an eclectic jumble of merchandise.
“We carry almost everything you need,” states the store’s Facebook page.
This isn’t much of an exaggeration. The store’s inventory includes hunting and fishing licenses, charcoal briquettes, piggy banks, clothes, cookware, cleaning supplies, and tea sets.
Fax and printing services are also available to customers.
There’s a method to the madness, however. Store owner Rezaul Karim keeps everything as organized and presentable as possible while still being responsive to the needs of his customers, a task that would be easier with a little bit more room. Luckily, after working closely with Global Detroit on his application, Karim won a 2017 NEIdeas grant to expand into a bigger space, something that he believes will allow him to carry more items at lower prices and better serve his customers. This could have a transformative effect on a business that is deeply embedded in the Bengali immigrant community of Hamtramck and surrounding Detroit neighborhoods.
Managing a bigger retail-space will certainly come with its own challenges, but Rezaul is clear on his motivations.
“One of my friends said, ‘Why do you want a bigger space, more headache, more stuff, more everything?’” Karim recounts. “The only thing I could explain to him is that I want my store to look nice. I will get all the things people are asking for, keep my customers happy, and keep the price lower. When I buy volume, my price will be lower.”
Knowing his customers and keeping them happy is the key to the business as Rezaul sees it. He carries products preferred by the Bangladeshi community and other ethnic communities in his neighborhood. These include specialty cookware, air fresheners, decorations and metal lunchboxes known as tiffin. With more space, he plans on expanding into gardening supplies including seeds, plants and fertilizers for the many Bengali gardeners in the area. He will also stock sporting goods, most importantly cricket equipment, which is highly sought after by the Bengali community but difficult to find in southeast Michigan.
Addressing unmet needs seems to be the through line of Everyday Super Discounts. Karim began
to develop his knack for doing so as a teenager in Bangladesh, where worked in several small retail enterprises. After emigrating to the U.S., he worked stints at Dunkin Donuts and as an office clerk, eventually saving enough money to open his own store.
Although Rezaul is understated and reserved, the business clearly brings him joy. He described it as “a kind of hobby,” and customers seek him out for advice. While he was being interviewed, a customer comes up to him several times to ask his opinion on a training toilet for toddlers. Rezaul says he knows the man’s wife and their parents who all shop at the store. Keeping this kind of customer happy is part of maintaining the web of relationships that businesses like Everyday Super Discounts depend upon. The average sale here is small (Rezaul says around $15), so success depends on frequent visits from customers and a good rapport with them.
“Sometimes they come to me because of the ethnic choice,” Karim says. “Like these kinds of things you won’t get in Sears or Walmart,” he says pointing to the unique sorts of curtains and window treatments he carries. “They can talk to me in our language. They have trust in me. If I say this is good, they’ll buy it. And I won’t tell him the wrong thing…If you’re honest with your customer, they’ll trust you. They’ll rely on you.”
With more space and an enhanced line of products Karim believes his enterprise can compete against bigger stores in the suburbs, which will in turn help the neighborhood maintain its unique flavor by providing the residents with a business that understands their needs.