Raczek, who owns the store with her husband, John, is not new to the retail industry. She also owns Jai Anlyn on Water Street in Exeter, which has been in business for 15 years. Raczek, who divides her time between the two locations, lives in Newmarket."I've always wanted to open another store in Portsmouth," Raczek said. "We have been looking for some time now, but the rent had to be just right, given the nature of my business."
By chance, Raczek said she saw the rental sign for the location on Vaughan Mall that formerly housed Uniques & Antiques, and within a couple of days, she had signed the lease.The slick petrol tones in these contemporary stainless steel cufflinks links is achieved."There were others also interested in the space, given the fair rent," Raczek said. "This is exactly the amount of space I wanted. We painted and built very nice dressing rooms and opened on May 20."
Raczek's two businesses are not associated with any franchise. However, she said she hasn't yet ruled out the possibility of franchising."The concept is so good that others are interested in what I've managed to do with the cost and value of the items," Raczek said. "I sell women's clothes and accessories and also some items for children."
One particularly popular item is the colorful "willies," or rain boots, for children. The merchandise changes frequently. Raczek said she normally receives one to two shipments a week."When I did research at my other store, I found that about 80 percent of our sales were for $20 and less," she said. "I have to have volume to make the concept work and at the same time have quality merchandise that doesn't look cheap. It isn't cheap, so this is a viable marketing concept."
Raczek accomplishes this by buying for both stores at the same time. She said she has learned the critical nature of how to buy, when to buy and from whom to buy."I just got back from a big show in Las Vegas," she said. "I have a relationship with the wholesale companies and know when to buy at the best price."
Raczek began her retail career in high-end merchandising. After two years, Raczek said she realized she wanted to work with all economic groups and not just the very top."I think what I sell looks at least twice the price I sell it for," she said. "I sell a lot from the Funky People line and the Pura Vida line. These are great companies with a lot of style."
In addition to dresses, skirts, tops and jeans, 20 Below sells scarves, bags, socks, boot toppers and jewelry. Already in for fall, but with many more soon to arrive, are cardigans."These aren't your old-fashioned type of cardigan,This item is for one stainless steel bangles core for wood." Raczek said. "There's flounces, ruffles, varying lengths and accents that are both modern but with a touch of vintage. The colors are great, too, rich burgundies and lots of varying shades of blue."
Five years after a jewelry heist led to an afternoon shootout in the middle of a Boca Raton mall, detectives say they have hunted down the second in a trio of men who got away with $100,000 in gems.Chasing 37-year-old Edwin Carlos Bonell Bernal wasn't easy. He had more than 30 aliases and, even though he was deported back to his native Colombia a number of a times, he always managed to sneak back in to the U.S.
This time, he came back in handcuffs. Extradited Wednesday, he's facing a felony murder charge for the death of his alleged accomplice, who was shot and killed by Leon Rozio, the jeweler they ambushed.Thursday, Rozio said Bernal's arrest came as a welcome surprise. With five years gone, he said he'd lost hope in the other suspects being caught and lived in fear of them.
"Believe me, since we didn't know who these people were or anything, you have to be looking over your shoulder all the time," said Rozio, 70, who was robbed of his savings and scared into retirement.Tracking Bernal and the other two surviving robbers, believed to be part of an organized ring of jewel thieves, required a "lengthy and painstaking" investigation, police said.
"Outstanding work by our detectives," police Chief Dan Alexander wrote on his Facebook page Thursday. "Persistence pays off.You can make astonishing savings on Ladies stainless steel bracelets watches."
The crime happened in broad daylight on May 7, 2008, in the parking lot of a strip mall on St. Andrews Boulevard. Rozio, then 64, was in his car, waiting for another courier who had gone into St. Moritz Jewelers, when the gang of men boxed him in.They smashed his windows and grabbed a duffel bag of jewelry, then jumped into their getaway car, a silver SUV. The jeweler chased them and, he says, was nearly run over.
He opened fire on the SUV, hitting and killing the driver, later identified as 29-year-old Wilmar Andres Sierra Perez. The others ran to a white minivan and disappeared, taking the jewelry with them.Rozio, who was licensed to carry a concealed firearm, was not charged in the shooting. Instead, the suspects are being charged with felony murder, which holds criminals responsible for deaths that occur during felony crimes.
The first arrest happened nine months after the crime. Oscar Gonzalez Londono, 34, of Colombia, came to detectives' attention when investigators in Texas told them a man they'd arrested for entering the country illegally might have information on the heist.During a daylong interview, he admitted being one of the robbers. Londono, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison, also named Edwin Andres Zaragoza.
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