Tender Heart Treasures creates 90 percent of its own products—and considers this one of its competitive advantages.

By Alicia Orr Suman

The product development process begins with the design and buying teams working together to determine where the line will develop for the upcoming year. “Our design team works closely with our merchandising team to determine themes/product lines for each season as well as for each section of our catalog,” Olsen explains. Looking at sales results from prior seasons and current seasons helps to determine what to drop or what to expand.