COVINGTON—Rarely finding cute clothes to fit, a pair of sisters simply decided to open a shop that catered to plus-sized ladies like them in October 2015.
Randi Semrad and Ramee Staerkel launched Okie Aussie Boutique on the corner of Main and State Highway 74 in Covington next to the town’s gas station.
Neither of them had owned a business before, and several people had advised against opening one with family. But they did it anyway.
Nearly 10 years later, they’re still going strong.
Doing it old school
At the time, Semrad was teaching third grade at Garber Public Schools. As a mom, she wanted to have flexible work hours so she could take off whenever she needed for her two kids.
Staerkel was cattle ranching near Douglas, so she too wanted flex hours to bring in extra income.
“This was totally out of the blue,” Staerkel commented. “We had seen online boutiques and some in Enid, so we thought we should try it.”
The Oklahoma State University alums from Billings acquired the plus-sized inventory and advertised their grand opening of Okie Aussie Boutique, which is incidentally named thanks to the sisters’ obsession with Australian shepherds.
“There were cars parked all the way to the highway,” Semrad said about opening day. Everyone came, from family and friends to members of the community and customers driving by.
“We were old-school back then,” Staerkel laughed. All receipts were hand-written and itemized. It was time consuming, she said, adding it didn’t take long to get computerized with an electronic inventory and payment system.
Word of mouth kept them busy during those early years.
“It was successful,” Semrad said. “When we started, we were plus sizes only. To have the opportunity to wear cute clothes … we had struggled to find our sizes.”
Semrad is a 1X and Staerkel is a 3X. As it turns out, they weren’t alone. Many plus-sized ladies were excited to discover a boutique that catered to them.
Throughout the decade since Okie Aussie Boutique opened, the shop has partnered with multiple wholesalers, “weeding out the bad ones and staying with the good ones,” Semrad said.
It was so successful from the start, they had to figure out how to ship the clothes, Staerkel said, adding they ship for free across the United States and have even shipped internationally.
The secret to their success, the sisters believe, is “We’re honest about the sizing,” Semrad said. “We’ve built a reputation with our customers that they trust us.”
Because they know everyone has different body types, a particular size may not fit like it should. And that’s OK, Semrad said. Their return policy allows for customers to send it back without hassle and receive store credit or exchange it.
Shifting the business model
In 2017, Okie Aussie Boutique was outgrowing its space by the gas station, so they looked for another spot to rent. As it happened, directly across the street a building became available, so they moved to what is their current location in October that year.
And while they primarily sell clothing for all sizes now, they also carry accessories such as hats, jewelry, and even an assortment of Made In Oklahoma items.
“We try to support local,” Staerkel said.
Nearly from the start, the sisters made sure the shop had an online presence. They didn’t have a website at that time, only a Facebook group, but it caught on like wildfire.
“We’d take a pic of a shirt and post it, and it would sell out in 10 minutes,” Staerkel said.
Back then Okie Aussie Boutique was 50% in-person shopping and 50% online shopping.
The sisters also hired Megan Davis to manage store so they themselves only had to be in the store once or twice a week.
“She keeps the store in line for us,” Semrad said, pointing out Davis oversees much of the inventory and shipping.
The pandemic forced Okie Aussie Boutique to go fully online in 2020.
As a result, the foot traffic in the shop “never honestly came back” after the scare subsided, Semrad lamented.
Now their customers do 80% of the shopping online and only 20% in-store.
“We have thought about shutting down the walk-in store,” Semrad said. Staerkel nodded, saying she feels like all they do is ship anyway.
The sisters said they will likely purchase a building to erect on site at one of their homesteads to house the inventory and direct ship from the website sales.
The decision isn’t firm and no date has been set, so in-person customers shouldn’t panic just yet. Staerkel and Semrad promise they will announce any plans and closeout specials when the time is right.
And who’s to say whether or not they re-open another storefront, like in Enid, Staerkel hinted.
For five years, she added, they did do pop-ups around the state to promote Okie Aussie Boutique. They are not opposed to doing vendor pop-ups for special events either.
What the sisters do know is they will keep doing what they’re doing.
“We’re going to ride this out as long as we can,” Semrad said.
Staerkel agreed.
“We’ve been blessed,” she said.
Okie Aussie Boutique’s storefront at 102 W. Main, Covington, is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Of course, the website at okieaussie.com is open 24/7 and shipping is free anywhere in the U.S. Follow them on Facebook @okieaussieboutique.