25 Years of Chaar: An Independent Retailer on Surviving, Adapting and Competing

Chaar opened in Allentown in 2001 as a small horseback-riding supply store. Twenty-five years later, the locally owned retailer operates four Lehigh Valley locations specializing in pet supplies and grooming, work and outdoor footwear, workwear and apparel.

Below is a Q&A with AJ ElChaar, VP at Chaar talking about how Chaar has changed, what has kept it going, and why independent retailers still have an important role to play.

How did Chaar get started?

Chaar was founded in 2001 as a “tack shop” — basically, a store selling horseback riding equipment, apparel, and related merchandise. At the time, my mom, Debi, and my sister, Rachel, were avid horseback riders, and my dad, Tony, saw a market opportunity because the retail industry around horseback riding was heavily fragmented and had not really adopted modern retail practices.

The original business was located in a small warehouse inside of an industrial park in Allentown. We only had a few employees and limited hours, and the merchandise assortment was all horseback riding supplies.

By 2002, we added horse feed and, as a convenience to our customers, a small selection of premium pet food.

When did you realize the business needed to become something different?

By 2003, we started to realize that horseback riding supplies on their own might not be a sustainable business long term. At the same time, there was growing demand for healthy pet foods, and we saw an opportunity to reach a larger customer base and create a more sustainable business.

In 2004, we moved to a much larger location on Airport Road in Allentown and significantly expanded our healthy pet food and supplies offering.

Things were looking good, but then when the 2007-08 financial crisis hit, we saw a massive decline in spending on horseback riding items and faced a significant cash crunch.

Fortunately, because we had expanded our healthy pet food business, we were able to lean into that market and rebound. That really was the beginning of our transformation into what we are today.

As more of our efforts went toward pet supplies and more non-horse customers came in, we started to see interest in equestrian-adjacent products such as cowboy boots, work boots, and general outdoor and western apparel.

Gradually, our clothing and footwear business shifted away from equine items at the same time that our pet supply business was picking up.

Over the next decade, our “tack shop” essentially went out of business as pet supplies, pet services, work boots, western boots, hiking boots, and outdoor clothing took over.

Why do you think Chaar survived when many independent retailers didn’t?

I think being adaptable has kept us going when others have failed.

We’ve been adaptable on so many fronts. For example, we’ve made substantial shifts in our core business, such as completely exiting the equine industry, which at one point was 100% of our sales.

We’ve also had to be creative — sometimes negotiating deals with vendors that many similar businesses wouldn’t even think to pursue.

We’ve never stopped advertising, which I think a lot of small businesses forget the importance of. Lifelong Lehigh Valley residents still come into our stores and say they just heard of us.

Local relationships have helped tremendously too. Tony has excellent relationships with local bankers, including the folks at Embassy Bank, who have helped us when we needed capital to grow or to get through challenging periods.

Our involvement in the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce has opened doors to new commercial clients, and many of our customers have also helped us connect with the local community in ways that have greatly benefitted our business.

What can Chaar do that Amazon, Chewy, Walmart, Tractor Supply, and other large retailers can’t do as well?

We can talk to people. It’s as simple as that. No chatbot, no AI assistant, no stale formulaic conversations or mandatory escalation protocols. Those businesses all operate at a scale where real quality customer interactions are just not a feasible business practice.

Tony and I spend an incredible amount of effort working with our managers and staff to make sure quality customer interactions are a core part of our business.

Where can’t you compete with those companies?

We can’t compete on assortment. Those companies have literal millions of products available to sell. But they have to do that because they lack the quality interactions. For example, if 10 different companies all offer a nearly identical product, and they all spend millions generating consumer demand, then a company like Amazon or Chewy has to carry all 10. We can pick maybe the best two or three and demonstrate to our customer why those are suitable alternatives to the rest of the field.

We also can’t compete on free shipping. Shipping something like a bag of dog food directly to someone’s door is incredibly expensive. So we tend to focus on products that provide an outstanding value to our customers instead of just focusing on the big brands that are able to generate the most consumer demand.

Have there been times when you deliberately refused to follow a larger competitor’s strategy?

One hundred percent. We have not followed the typical retail strategy of pricing items really high so that we can offer discounts that look great. For example, many major clothing and footwear brands have very high regular prices so that they can still make their full profit margin when an item goes “on sale.”It’s a less complex version of the dynamic pricing that gets used on things like airfare.

We stick to a simple pricing strategy so that our customers can shop with the confidence that they are not missing out or paying too much if they buy something today.

What has changed the most about retail since 2001?

There are so many more options in almost every product category. That, combined with online and influencer marketing, has made it so people are buying things they really don’t need, or they’re being led to believe that only one item will work for them.

And usually that is the item that has the best marketing, not necessarily the one that provides the best value, utility, or experience. To me, that’s just one more reason it’s so important to have local stores that can talk to people about their needs and present options. Shoutout to Aardvark, the running shoe store in Bethlehem, because they do this extremely well too.

How important are knowledgeable employees versus just carrying products?

I think for one of the big brands we mentioned before, just carrying products is more valued by them. For us, a few really great employees can have a tremendous impact on an individual store’s success. It’s a complete 180 from big-box retail here at Chaar.

How important is price?

Price is extremely important, now more than ever. With the price of everything from gas, to groceries, to housing going up and up, making sure we are priced right for our customers is something we think about every day.

Recently, some of our greatest successes have come from providing exceptional value on our most popular items.

How has e-commerce affected the business?

We’ve dabbled, and continue to do so, in e-commerce. We really only focus our paid online advertising locally, so I think it keeps our e-commerce sales from eclipsing our in-store business. And that’s always been the goal.

I think we probably have one of the most comprehensive e-commerce sites of any store our size, but the focus has always been to have a great website for the convenience of our local customers. Almost everyone wants to see what you have online before they shop, and I think it gives a lot of people the confidence to come check us out.

What role does specialization play?

Specialization is important to a certain extent, but it’s just as important to understand the relationships between different things.

For example, if a dog visiting one of our groomers has dry, itchy skin or excessive shedding, there are ways to deal with that through grooming, but it’s also important to consider the dog’s diet, what supplements they are on, possible seasonal and environmental issues, and so on.

Seeing the big picture often brings the best solutions. The same goes for footwear.

Say someone comes in looking for the most insulated boots for winter. Of course we could outfit them with heavily insulated boots, but there’s more to it than just warm boots. What are they doing outside in terms of activity level and duration? What clothing layers are they wearing?

We want to look at the big picture. Otherwise, the customer might not get the result they’re after.

How much have Amazon and Chewy affected the business?

Amazon and Chewy have undoubtedly had an impact on our business over the years, yet we have managed to keep pursuing growth and operate successfully.

I think a lot of people who operate independent stores like ours spend too much effort worrying about all the ways big tech companies like Amazon and Chewy are going to beat them instead of focusing on their own strengths.

One of my favorite books of all time, Candide, ends with “let us cultivate our garden.”

To me, it means focus on what is in front of you. Play to your strengths, and don’t worry so much about what everyone else is doing.

Do major brands treat independent retailers differently from large national accounts?

There are several brands that really do favor big corporate accounts. For example, there are some items we actually have to sell at a loss just to be competitive.

Fortunately, there are also many brands that understand the importance of small business and don’t charge companies like ours extreme markups to pay for the incentives they give to the big guys.

One amazing partner in that has been Fromm Family Pet Foods, a fifth-generation family-owned pet food company out of Wisconsin. Footwear brands like Keen and Ariat have also been incredibly supportive in helping us grow.

Why is Chaar still here?

Because we just won’t give up. One of my least favorite things to hear from a customer is a polite, “Well, thanks anyway.” Usually that means they came in to look for something and just couldn’t find it.

Those three words are like a fire alarm. They’re not telling us to buzz off. They’re not telling us our store stinks. They’re saying, “I really like it here. It’s too bad you don’t have what I need.” And almost always, we do have a solution.

Sometimes it takes a little creativity or some collaboration, but nine times out of 10, we can provide something that customer is going to be highly pleased with.

And even in the one out of 10 times that we can’t, we at least want them to go home knowing — and telling their friends — that the people at Chaar will absolutely jump through hoops for their customers.

That’s what makes us successful, and that’s what keeps people coming back.

What does reaching 25 years mean to you?

We are extremely proud of the people who work at Chaar. It means a lot to have a team that really represents some of the friendliest and most talented customer-focused people in the Lehigh Valley.Everyone takes tremendous pride, and it really shows.

Some of our customers have shopped with us for decades, and I think the thing that keeps them coming back is the consistently friendly, welcoming, and knowledgeable atmosphere that our people provide every day.

Do you have anything special planned for your anniversary?

We have giveaways planned for every day in November at each of our four Lehigh Valley stores. Some will be instant prizes, others will be gifts with purchase, and some higher value items such as work boots and dog beds will be raffled off with winners selected at the end of the month. So far we have several hundred pet items such as treats, toys, and beds, plus close to 20 pairs of boots, as well as apparel, socks, adn other accessories. Our vendors were tremendously supportive in helping us arrange all the giveaways and prizes, with some items being valued at hundreds of dollars each. All you have to do for a chance to win is shop at one of our stores in November 2026.