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Businesses weather economy
Colchester, Conn. — Despite the recent financial crisis on Wall Street, many Colchester business owners say their loyal customers keep coming back.
Even before a national recession was declared, the motto on bags given out at the Colchester Business Showcase in September was, “Shop Colchester First.” Businesses in Colchester and the Colchester Business Association sponsor or co-sponsor several community activities.
Alexa’s Angels Kicks Off 2009 With New Designs, New Energy
(Windsor, CO) — Alexa’s Angels, a leading inspirational and gift jewelry manufacturer known for its high-quality original designs, is kicking off 2009 with fantastic new fashion-forward designs, a renewed charitable mission and new national representation. “We’re looking forward to the new year and are starting off 2009 with some exciting new products and developments,” said Beth Lang, founder of Alexa’s Angels.
Midwest Introduces World’s Largest Sock Monkey During Winter Market
Cannon Falls, MN – Midwest, leading designer and manufacturer of the Seasons of Cannon Falls®, Colonial Candle® and Delight™ brands, takes its popular plush sock monkeys to new heights – literally – by introducing the world’s largest Genuine Monkeez sock monkey during the Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market.
Happy Holiday$ Local shoppers help retailers buck national trend
Le Mars, Iowa — Crummy economy? Worse weather?
Local store managers and owners didn’t wince.
Many are reporting Christmas season sales that matched or were close to last year’s good numbers.
That’s not the story across the nation.
Total retail sales, excluding gasoline, dropped about 4 percent in the United States, according to a Holiday report from SpendingPulse, an arm of MasterCard that tracks sales paid for by credit card.
Stronger than expected holiday sales reported by Fulton area retailers
Retail sales for most Fulton businesses were up this year during the traditional holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, a Fulton Sun survey reveals.
Many retailers were surprised by the strength of sales because of so much talk on the national level about a recent decline in the economy.
On Friday it was reported that Americans spent much less on gifts this season than they did last year, according to SpendingPulse, a division of MasterCard Advisors.
Dale business redefines 1-stop shop
Dale — When it comes to multitasking, Sue Close is a bit of a marvel.
The Dale woman runs a beauty salon, gift shop, tanning salon and coffee shop — all packed into a single building.
She’s definitely a hands-on owner. At Sue’s Beauty Boutique Coffee and Gifts, Close is one of two full-time licensed cosmetologists and has been cutting hair and supplying beauty services for 31 years.
But her work isn’t confined to the clippers. She helps out in the coffee shop — which features drive-though service — and oversees the gift shop and tanning salon.
Shops busy Saturday, but Christmas bottom line won’t be known for days
West Park Mall was bustling with people Saturday.
“You can tell it’s busy,” said Amy McAllister of Cape Girardeau. “People are parking all the way back to Taco Bell.”
McAllister preferred to wait in the car with her stepdaughter, Sierra Sams, 11, while Sierra’s father, Brian, made a quick trip to redeem a gift card at EB Games.
“It was nuts in there — people were shoulder to shoulder,” Brian Sams said when he returned to the car.
Small Businesses Starting, Thriving Despite Recession
The unemployment rate in Kansas is lower than many parts of the country and one organization in Northeast Kansas is working to keep it that way. Some small businesses are getting started and thriving during the recession.
“We were kind of surprised with the support of the community, so we were extremely busy the first four weeks or so, a little overwhelmed with it all, it’s been really great,” said Brandee Longhofer, who works alongside her father at Big Mike’s Diner.
Longhofer and her father opened the diner this past September in Holton.
In effort to save the sales season, stores turn to discounts
Soon after Uniquely Leo’s Ltd. opened at 10 a.m. Friday, a man came in with a shopping list from his wife.
That gave store owner Marcelyn Miller a flicker of hope through the gloom of recent weeks. Her downtown Suffolk gift shop hosted an after-Christmas sale as part of continuing efforts to entice reluctant shoppers to spend.
“Right now, for me, it’s all about cash flow,” Miller said.
Black Friday II: With gift cards in hand, shoppers descend on stores
Traditionally, Dec. 26 has been a day to return gifts that didn’t fit or weren’t to the recipient’s taste. But gift cards are turning the day into a shopping bonanza similar to Black Friday.
“The traffic is comparable,” said Chris Bastien, director of mall marketing at Waterford’s Crystal Mall, surveying a bustling sea of shoppers. “On Black Friday, you shop for others. Today, you shop for yourself.”
Gift cards are a big reason for that, he confirmed.
“Many people are here spending gift cards,” Bastien said.
Braggin’ rights
Montpelier, VT – Like the elves in the North Pole, there were a number of late nights for Doug Bragg and his cohorts at Bragg Farm this holiday season.
“The last two weeks, it’s really gangbusters,” said Bragg earlier this month about the holiday frenzy at the Bragg Farm Sugarhouse and Gift Shop. “As a result we’re staying here late at night, getting our packing done… Mail orders are up some. Everything’s up a little bit.”
For seven generations, Bragg’s family has been maple sugaring in Vermont, but its expansion into the tourist trade is more recent.
Shop talk: Lessons gleaned from the holiday shopping season
I am a student of shopping.
I get my thrill from watching people shop, learning why people shop and discovering how shopping habits affect people and the world around them.
Not surprisingly, the holiday shopping season was a gold mine of information. Now that Christmas has come and gone, here are the top five things I learned about the shopping world this holiday season.
1.
Gift helps gem shop lure visitors to Rice Museum
OR — Jane Guariniello knew what an excellent opportunity the offer presented.
When the retailer Sharper Image filed for bankruptcy protection and closed its stores, one of the most desirable retail locations in Hillsboro came available. Rather than have the storefront formerly occupied by Sharper Image remain empty, the property managers of the Streets of Tanasbourne approached Guariniello, executive director of the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals.
Slow economy hits small-town retailers
Lanesboro — Stocked with fashionable women’s clothing, fabrics and books this holiday shopping season, Cheryl’s Apparel lacks one thing necessary to ring up sales.
The independent retail shop in Lanesboro is short on customers.
Last-Minute Shoppers Hit Stores
Harrisonburg, PA – Those looking to wrap up their holiday shopping flocked to Harrisonburg stores Saturday, hoping to find last-minute deals on the final weekend before Christmas.
Parking lots at Harrisonburg Crossing, which includes the Wal-Mart store, and the lot at the Valley Mall and Target were near capacity all day long.
“It’s a madhouse,” said Carl Campbell, a store manager at Target. He said the Nintendo Wii video game system and GPS devices have been especially popular this holiday season, including on Saturday.
“It’s been nonstop since we opened the doors.
NCE Seeks Chapter 11 Protection
Milford, OH — New Creative Enterprises (NCE), a leading designer and manufacturer of outdoor living décor and gift items, decided to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an effort to maximize value for its creditors and restructure the company or find a financial partner, according to Benno Duenkelsbuehler, president and CEO since the end of 2006.
The current global banking/credit crisis, coupled with a significant sales drop before new regional sales agencies were recently appointed, were the main reasons behind the company’s decision.
For Craft Sales, the Recession Is a Help
San Francisco — Feeling the pinch of the economic downturn, some holiday gift-givers are saving money this year by making their own presents or — for those who lack the time or talent — buying handmade gifts from others.
Craft stores, from giant chains like Michaels Stores to small scrapbook supply shops, are reporting that sales are higher compared with the last holiday season, and online marketplaces for handmade goods, like Etsy, are seeing a boom in listings and transactions.
Sales at Scrap, a craft supply store in Portland, Ore., were up 33 percent in November compare
Storefronts that say: Joy to the world
Matthew F.
Break in weather is a break for shoppers
Don’t be fooled by all the large, pink, stuffed-to-the-gills shopping bags surrounding Amanda Kuzma.
She and the rest of her family are cutting back this holiday season.
Fewer gift cards. More group gifts. A secret Santa to help ease the burden of buying for everyone.
Those are just a few of the cost-cutting steps the Arcade family is adopting during these tough economic times.
“We’re definitely cutting back,” Kuzma said Saturday as she rested on a bench in the Walden Galleria.
Artist and entrepreneur, Curtis Steiner shows us the value of objects ordinary or odd
Any visitor to Curtis Steiner’s fairy-tale cottage near Green Lake should take a restroom break, needed or not, and head upstairs to peek around.
On the way up, notice the red-and-white handrail in the stairway: It’s actually a vintage surveyor’s pole.
Covering one entire wall are framed prints depicting birdlife.