It's Baton Rouge: Out To Lunch

We ve all heard about the Amazon Effect and how ecommerce is seriously disrupting the retail world. Savvy entrepreneurs are figuring out how to carve a niche for themselves, whether by offering unqiue products or that special personal touch you can t get online, creating a unique shopping experience , or, by creating a whole new business model. Mark Peirce is owner of The Royal Standard, a gifts, accessories and at one time antique furniture store. Mark and his wife Krista got into the business more than 20 years ago, selling European antiques. Over the years, as the market for antiques and the retail storefront model in general have changed, the Pierces have changed with it. Today, in addition to their two local Baton Rouge stores, they own three additional stores, an entire wholesale operation that supplies some 2000 retailers around the country with the thousands of products, gift items and womens apparel that they manufacture at one of three overseas factories. Meredith Waguespack is founder and CEO of So