photograph by jane schneider
Sara Garrett was one of Merle Norman’s largest franchisees nationally during the 1980s and ’90s. When malls were at their height in Memphis, Garrett had a store in nearly all of them.
“My whole life has been one giant fluke.” That’s how Sara Garrett puts it, laughing about the way her career unfolded while selling Merle Norman cosmetics. Starting out as an ambitious teenager, she gradually learned the beauty business and went on to own and operate 10 stores in Memphis, Germantown, and Collierville. She also would become one of the company’s top franchisee owners nationally.
In early February, I found the Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio in Germantown gaily festooned with huge balloon bouquets, congratulatory signs, and baskets full of fresh-cut flowers. The 74-year-old entrepreneur’s staff, some of whom have been with her for more than 30 years, had decorated to help their boss celebrate her 55th anniversary in the business. They placed a black sash across Garrett’s wine-colored blouse, emblazoned with “Cheers to 55 Years!” in gold letters. Throughout the day, a steady stream of customers stopped by to toast her impressive milestone.
The studio, located in the Germantown Village Square on Poplar (next to Dinstuhl’s), has been at the same location since the plaza opened in the late 1980s. Women regularly shop here for their favorite foundation, to receive a makeover or beauty treatment, and even to introduce their daughter or granddaughter to their first cosmetics.
“We always took good care of our customers. Get to know your customers and you’ll succeed.” — Sara Garrett
You might be surprised to learn that Merle Norman’s products, which include a wide assortment of foundations, powders, lipsticks, eye shadows, and lotions, are still made in the U.S., just as they were when founder Merle Norman launched her venture in Los Angeles in 1931. Giving women the opportunity to own and manage their own businesses was a hugely innovative idea at the time. And it was a logical fit: women helping women become more beautiful. Merle Norman created a unique niche in the cosmetics industry that continues today.
photograph by jane schneider
Garrett with her daughter, Gina Farley, as a teen. The two were featured in a store ad that ran in Memphis Magazine in the late 1980s.
Mastering the Cosmetics World
Garrett’s career started at age 17 at the Merle Norman store in Southland Mall. It was 1969, our city’s first shopping mall had opened just three years prior, and Garrett was accompanying a friend who was interviewing for a sales position at Merle Norman. While satisfied to be her friend’s plus-one, the interviewer asked the teenager if she would like to apply for the job, too. Garrett jumped at the chance, was hired, and within three months became the store’s top sales associate.
It didn’t hurt that she’d sold Avon products door-to-door — at age 15. She fudged her age to land the job and was quickly bitten by the sales bug. She demonstrated that same moxie as she began doing beauty makeovers for Merle Norman.
“I loved the atmosphere. I loved seeing women change before my eyes,” Garrett says with a smile. “The owner didn’t like me, but the manager thought I had great potential.”
The owner ran six stores in Memphis and Collierville. It also happened that Southaven was the training center for new Merle Norman owners who were based in the South. Her flair for color and style meant it wasn’t long before Garrett was teaching those owners makeup artistry. By the following year, she had proven herself valuable enough to be promoted to store manager.
“I had tons of energy. I always played sports: volleyball, basketball, softball,” she says, referring to her high school years at Messick. As with anything she did, “I was in it to win it.”
Garrett applied herself to mastering the Merle Norman world, eventually moving up from managing a store to owning one. Here’s how that unfolded. The first store Garrett managed was located in Collierville’s City Centre Shopping Plaza. There, she got to know the plaza’s developer and owner, Maynard Wingo, who would often stop by the shop to say hello. Not long after taking the position, the store owner decided to sell, which meant Garrett would be out of a job. When Wingo heard the news, he told the 20-something, “Why, you’re the heart of this store!” Garrett recognized the opportunity, but she was young, married, and eight months pregnant with plans to be a stay-at-home mom. Plus, she had almost no money.
“Mom was a good teacher. She would let you put your own spin on things. And if you made a mistake, she’d help you get out of it.” — Gina Farley
Wingo persisted, confident in her ability. “He was going to the bank that day and he said to me, ‘I’m going to sign your bank note.’ This was one year after the store’s opening. It wasn’t the right time, but if you wait for the right time, it may never come,” she says.
Thanks to Wingo, the store in Collierville became hers. For five years, Garrett made just enough money to stay afloat; she paid her staff (which initially included her mother, mother-in-law, and high school friends), purchased cosmetics, and covered the store’s operating costs. In time, her clientele grew until the day finally arrived when she was able to give up her regular job at a doctor’s office and declare herself a full-time business owner. “I always knew it was going to work,” she says with a smile.
photograph by jane schneider
The Merle Norman studio in Germantown carries a full line of cosmetics, as well as costume jewelry, scarves, and accessories.
Off to the Races
Garrett’s business grew solidly enough during the ’70s and ’80s that she soon opened a store in The Peabody. Later, opportunity would knock again when a Merle Norman VP flew in from California to help finance her growth. Garrett put him in front of developer Jack Belz, whom she had gotten to know through her dealings at The Peabody. Belz, too, saw her potential, and as the malls grew around town, he helped her establish stores at the Mall of Memphis and Hickory Ridge Mall. By the time she reached her early 30s, Garrett owned 10 stores and was managing 50 employees, a bookkeeper, and a personal secretary. She and another businesswoman in Texas became Merle Norman’s biggest franchisees.
“By that time, I had burned out two husbands,” she says with a laugh. “My total focus was on the business. I would pick up my two girls from school and they’d do their homework at the back of the store while I worked.”
Daughter Gina Farley, who still works with her mother at the Germantown store, learned plenty about retail growing up, back when she and her younger sister, Leslie, would regularly help their mom. “We often switched out inventory to give a store a new look,” she says. “So we were always trudging stuff from one store to another. But Mom was a good teacher. She would let you put your own spin on things. And if you made a mistake, she’d help you get out of it.”
Angie Snow Allen, who began part-time for Garrett in 1989 while in college, remembers, “All the studios had a different personality.” She worked primarily at the Mall of Memphis but would also go downtown on Sundays to Garrett’s store at The Peabody. There, meeting celebrities like Patrick Swayze added a certain panache to the job.
photograph by jane schneider
“There’s nothing I enjoy more than helping someone feel better about themselves,” says Jodie Saunders, pictured doing a client’s makeup.
Jodie Saunders started in 1992 with Garrett and also enjoyed working at The Peabody, since that store “had more eye-catching, high-dollar clothing and jewelry.” She went on to manage Garrett’s Merle Norman studio on Audubon Place at Spottswood, while also doing merchandising and product purchasing for the other studios.
“The stores were really busy. We had tons of fun with women of all ages. It was like a big family,” says Saunders.
Employees knew Garrett ran a tight ship. She only kept new employees for two weeks before determining if they had the right mix of sales knowledge and savvy. She also made sure her studios kept up with the latest beauty trends. Women could come to her stores for spray tans, facials, and ear-piercing, and the Audubon store even had a hair salon in the back. Allen later became an aesthetician, so in addition to makeup, brow tints and micro-blading services were added. Many women relied on the studio for custom makeup jobs ahead of weddings, proms, or even cheer and pom competitions.
“I love it so much and love helping women look and feel their best — it’s uplifting,” Allen says. “It doesn’t feel like work when you do what you love.”
Garrett’s other passion became Moriah House, a shelter dedicated to assisting battered women. When she first encountered the organization 30 years ago, their fundraiser invited her for a tour. She says, “When I went into the education room, my knees went totally weak. I saw my first makeup table from my job at the Southland Mall.” She took that as a sign and offered to host a holiday party for the women. “We took attention off of giving gifts to each other and turned it to giving to these women instead,” says Saunders. “We’d do their makeup and give them free products.” That relationship continues.
These days, Garrett’s business remains steady if not as hectic. The decline of the malls led her to close several stores, and the 2008 financial crash took a toll as well. But it has been a satisfying run and with fewer responsibilities, Garrett is free to spend more time with her grandchildren in Florida.
“We always took good care of our customers,” she says proudly. “Get to know your customers and you’ll succeed.”
