Is The Upper East Side The Best Shopping In New York?

At 22-years-old, Madison Dowd bought Ludivine, a long-standing Upper East Side boutique, through BizBuySell.com. Instead of starting a brand from scratch, she stepped into an existing business with loyal customers, real inventory, a balance sheet, and an unwavering belief in the future of retail.

This conversation gets into what it actually looks like to run a multi-brand fashion boutique today — from buying decisions and trade shows to navigating instinct versus data. We also talk about learning a customer and buying patterns, what makes the Upper East Side the most valuable retail landscape, and the brands flying off her shelves.

Timestamps:
01:30 — Buying Ludivine at 22: Why she chose to purchase instead of start from scratch
05:45 — Finding the business on BizBuySell and stepping into an existing P&L
10:00 — Learning before changing: understanding a legacy customer base
14:40 — The Upper East Side shopper: loyalty, psychology, and neighborhood dynamics
19:15 — Buying strategy: trade shows, inventory bets, and seasonal planning
23:50 — Instinct vs. data: when to trust your gut
28:00 — Social media’s role in a brick-and-mortar business
30:45 — What actually makes a multi-brand boutique sustainable today

Shop Ludivine boutiqueludivine.com
Follow Madison on Instagram instagram.com/madisondowd
Follow Madison on TikTok tiktok.com/@shopgirlmadison
Let’s Get Dressed
YouTube: youtube.com/@livvperez
Instagram: instagram.com/letsgetdressedpod
Newsletter: substack.com/@livvperez

Liv Perez
Instagram: www.instagram.com/livvperez
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/livv.perez
ShopMy: shopmy.us/livvperez
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.