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HAWKINS TEAGUE/Ledger & Times
Gaye Haverstock, one of the owners of The Place, adjusts a Christmas display yesterday. Like other local business owners, she said she is not expecting the downturn in the national economy to have a huge negative impact on holiday sales in Murray. |
Store owners optimistic about holiday season
By HAWKINS TEAGUE
Staff Writer
While economic analysts are predicting a disappointing holiday season for retailers across the nation, local businesses are optimistic about their prospects this year.
Many local small business owners are saying they don't think Murray has been or will be affected by the current economic downturn as much as some other parts of the state or country. Lance Allison, the executive director of the Murray-Calloway County Chamber of Commerce, said he has heard this sentiment from several Chamber members.
He referred to one who told him she hadn't seen major growth lately, but that business hadn't shrunk either.
“We are being affected by the national economy, but we're also in that ‘semi-cocoon' of Murray,” Allison said. “We're encouraging people to shop in Murray first. We understand that people occasionally have to shop in other places, but if they think of something they need that they can get in town, we would encourage them to go to Chamber members.
“We want to rally around each other and Murray is known for that.”
Dan Foster, the owner of Dan's Men's Clothing on Chestnut Street, said that having Murray State University has helped local businesses survive the current economy better than most towns its size. He said he thought this was not only because students patronize local businesses, but that university employees' wages were not declining rapidly.
Foster said his business was doing well because he offered a lot of clothing that was hard to find in the area and had regular customers from places like Hopkinsville, Paris and Clarksville. He said his local regulars were also doing well enough to maintain their lifestyles.
“Murray's a proud town,” he said. “People still want to dress up and go out.”
Jim Joiner, manager of JC Penney's, said he was expecting to do well the day after Thanksgiving, known as “Black Friday” because it is traditionally the day when many retailers begin to turn a profit. Joiner said the store would open at 4 a.m. and that the parking lot is usually full at the time they open every year.
Joiner also said he didn't think Murray was as affected by the economic slowdown as much of the country because of its status as a college town and also because it is home to several successful industries.
Goody's Manager Sandi Sawyer said she thought her company was doing fine because it offered some type of sale every week and was doing a good job with marketing and answering the needs of its customers.
Gaye Haverstock, who owns the 12th Street shop called The Place with her mother, Betty Miller, said she had a bit of perspective on the economic situation. She said her mother had opened the store almost 43 years ago and that since then, they have survived through plenty of bad times.
She said they were still holding onto regular customers and to people who visit the store from places like Illinois and Tennessee.
“We haven't had as many walk-ins as usual, so in that respect, you could say we have been affected,” Haverstock said.
Sarah Jones, the owner of Vintage Rose, said that some of her larger vendors understood that the country was facing hard times and that they were offering lower wholesale prices, which she was able to pass on to consumers. She said she still expected December to be a good month, but that 2007 was a record-setting year for her.
Judy Downey, who owns the downtown business Penique's with her daughter, Penny Bogard, said she could tell that some customers were being a bit more conservative in the past and that some were buying smaller items as opposed to larger items. She said she was planning a good deal of sales for Friday and December.
A recent Associated Press story reported that retailers across the country had already been offering big sales throughout November in order to combat the troubled economy and that many would be cutting prices even more to lure shoppers into the store for Black Friday.
According to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs Index, stores that have been open for at least a year reported the worst October sales in at least 39 years and more weak sales in November, the story said.
Story created Nov 25, 2008 - 12:13:34 EST.
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