Bea Smith’s Dress Shop opened at 14 Main Street in Westerly in the Washington Trust Building in September 1957. Bea had 20 years of retail experience at Dower’s Department Store, but struggled to get a loan to open her own store. At a time when few women owned and operated a business, Smith had to list her husband, Raymond P. Smith, as President to secure financing.
Once she cleared that hurdle, she filled the store with fine dresses, coats and millinery. Thanks to her keen business prowess, her innate sense of style, and the support of her husband Raymond, Bea Smith’s Dress Shop not only survived, but thrived in a booming downtown Westerly. In 1963, she moved to larger quarters at 43 High Street. The selling space was tripled and the store now carried an expansive selection of eveningwear, sportswear, fine sleepwear, and “foundations”. The Bea Smith Dress Shop provided “the clothes of tomorrow for the women of today” until Bea’s retirement in 1981.
In 1984, Bea’s grandson, Raymond W. Smith re-opened Bea Smith’s at its present location at 37 Broad St. in Westerly. This new shop carried much the same merchandise as the old store and Bea’s customers returned in droves! Ray was no stranger to this business as he had been very active with the running of the previous Bea Smith’s. With Ray’s drive, experience and ambition, along with Bea’s continued mentoring, Bea Smith’s was once again a successful business. Bea continued to work with Ray until her death in 1992.
As the shop continued to grow, Ray wanted to expand his merchandise assortment to reach a wider client base, so in 1986; he retained the services of Barzilay-Goldberg Resident Buying Office in the garment district of New York City. This action allowed him to take advantage of group store buying power and tap into the expertise of the professional buyers in the New York market. Business was good!
By the early 1990’s, the economic tide had turned in downtown Westerly. Many stores had closed and the downtown was headed into a decline, In June 1994, Bea Smith’s suffered devastating smoke and water damage from a fire in a neighboring store. The merchandise was a total loss. The store was remodeled and restocked in record time. Bea Smith’s reopened by August. This setback, however, forced Ray to examine Bea Smith’s operations and look beyond his four walls to survive.
The next several years brought creative innovative ideas in marketing, thus renewed success to Bea Smith’s. Ray started conducting “trunk shows” in local retirement communities. He brought a sampling of Bea Smith’s clothing to the residents. Word of this fantastic service spread and Ray now uses the Bea Smith’s van (a 1 ton moving van) to take his clothing line to over sixty retirement communities throughout Southern New England.
In 2001, Ray’s sister, Dawn E. Smith, established the “Bea Smith Scholarship” in tribute to their late grandmother Bea. Ray and Dawn fund this scholarship for graduating high school seniors who are continuing their education in the business administration / fashion merchandising field.
Bea Smith’s entered the digital age with their website www.beasmiths.com. Customers from as far away as California and Bermuda call to order difficult to find classics, and to take advantage of free shipping. The store now employs 6 sales people to keep up with stock and orders. Ray’s wife, Sharon, a registered nurse, handles the website, emails, direct mail advertising, and helps at the shop during holidays and special events.
The Bea Smith Shop is once again a thriving operation in a booming Downtown Westerly. Visiting Bea Smith’s, you will find a classic clothing line for the modern mature woman in an atmosphere of old fashioned service and values.
Bea Smith’s is located at 37 Broad St., Westerly Rhode Island. For directions, click here.
The Bea Smith Shop celebrated it’s fiftieth year as Westerly Rhode Island’s “favorite fashion store” in 2007. This ladies clothing store has come a long way from the little dress shop opened by Beatrice Nardone Smith in 1957. Regardless of the updates and changes, Bea’s grandson, Ray, now owner and operator, maintains the same old time service and values taught to him by his grandmother.