How an Upper East Side Boutique Is Redefining the Retail Playbook

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 Follow Madison on Instagram Follow Madison on TikTok Let’s Get Dressed YouTube: Instagram: Newsletter: Liv Perez Instagram: TikTok: ShopMy: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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How an Upper East Side Boutique Is Redefining the Retail Playbook is an episode from Friend of a Friend by Liv Perez.

This episode is 32:25 long.

This episode was published on Mar 2, 2026.

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