PHOTO GALLERY: MeraVic
Vicki Digby does more than “make it her business” to know decorating trends and styles. Such things define her business.
The Grain Valley entrepreneur, CEO and founder of Mera-Vic, a decorating supply wholesaler, realizes that today’s sluggish economy calls for calm, soothing tones. The decorative accessories stocked in her 130,000-square-foot supply warehouse range from floral arrangements to stoneware and table-top size statuary. The items stocked there today are made to compliment furniture, flooring and wall treatments in hues of white, cream and taupe.
“When the economy is good, and things are jumping, you see more splashy colors,” explained Digby, whose company is the recently-announced winner of Truman Heartland Foundation’s Corporate Citizen of the Year. The colors of choice this summer are anything but loud. Instead, people are looking for “something that’s very tranquil and soothing,” she explained.
The slow economic pace is a double-edged sword for Digby’s home interior business, whose catch phrase on their catalog deems “design elegance.” Although money is tighter for most Americans, and overall sales have dropped, the home interior industry hasn’t completely diminished.
“In this economy, you see people enjoying their homes, having people over for dinner instead of going out,” she said. In addition, the slowed home sales have caused many homeowners to redecorate the homes they already own rather than opting for something new, said Digby, who lives in Independence.
Styles and trends come and go and Digby has seen the taste swing from Victorian and formal to what she terms “that Pottery Barn look,” a simpler mix of artificial twigs, grasses and feathers, often displayed in decorative pottery.
Mera-Vic’s customers number about 18,000 mostly small, individually owned retail shop owners. Most customers are in this country, while a few own stores in Canada and Mexico. While about 50 employees work from the Grain Valley warehouse and office facility at 1780 S. Buckner-Tarsney Road, more than 200 employees work off-site as traveling sales persons who show the company’s products from 30-foot-long mobile sales offices. In addition, the company also operates seven showrooms in market centers scattered throughout the country, Digby said.
The company was a natural choice for Truman Heartland’s board of directors, who name the annual corporate citizen, said Paul Thomson, the foundation’s CEO and president. The award goes to a company that demonstrates their charitable bent by donating their time, talent and treasure, Thomson said. For the last several years, Digby has donated table decorations and her employees’ time to spruce up the tables at the foundation’s annual September gala.
“They put it up, then come in and bring it down,” Thomson said, adding that Mera-Vic also has provided financial support to Truman-Heartland and a host of other local charities, including the Rainbow Center.
The company was founded in 1980 and was the next logical step for Digby, who owned a floral shop in Englewood, called “The Flower Barrel.” She married her silk flower salesmen Merritt, and opened the business, named for them both.
When he retired, Digby bought out her now ex-husband’s portion of the business. She owns most of the company’s stock, but, in the last few years, company stock has been available to employees. Eventually, it will be totally company-owned, she said.
Digby’s son, Bill Mundy of Independence, provides technical support for the company, but is the only true family member involved in the business. Despite that, Mera-Vic maintains a homey, family atmosphere with many employees who’ve been with the business for 15 years or more.
It’s the comments and notes from employees, thanking Digby for her company’s flexible work hours and other benefits that make owning a business worthwhile.
She said, “It’s things like that that make me think, ‘I know we’re doing something right.’”
