Many Scotia and Glenville small business owners say that the doom and gloom of the economy has yet to reach their cash registers. Holidays staples like ornaments and wine seem to have held up their usual sales, even as the recession creeps into its second calendar year.
Owner of Scotia Wine and Liquor Jim Klump said he is more than happy with what he has seen happen in his store in the past 27 months since he first started the business.
If there is a recession, you would not know it in here. Sales have been steady, in fact they are up over 20 percent from last year, said Klump.
Klump said that the holidays brought in the usual customers he sees two and three times a week, as well as what he calls the `annuals.`
`There are those who I only see once a year, but they were back again this year, and that’s a great sign. Whether they were purchasing for themselves or for gifts, they were here,` said Klump.
Klump said he was relieved to see that people were still out buying things like the gift baskets he sells at his Mohawk Avenue location. He said that the past six weeks of the year is primarily where he makes a profit, and he depends on a strong holiday season.
`My regulars come in and buy two to three times what they usually do,` said Klump.
Along Mohawk Avenue, places like CVS Pharmacy reported a steady flow of customers before and after Christmas. After-Christmas sales also looked promising for small businesses such as Scott’s Hallmark on Route 50 in Glenville where owner Janice Bauer said people lined up a half hour before the store opened Friday morning. She said the store holds a 40 percent off sale every year, which she said is usually a success with this year being no exception.
`We seemed to have our usual number both before and after Christmas. People are still going to buys gifts, ornaments, cards, so we didn’t expect too much of a change,` said Bauer.
Bauer said she did see a change in people’s shopping habits this year, which may be a result of our slumping economy. She said consumers seemed to be more cautious while spending.
`I think shoppers tended to put more thought and care into what they were buying. They were more aware of how they were spending,` said Bauer.
Other small businesses that seem to be weathering the economic storm are those benefiting from Mother Nature’s ill moods. Wayside Hardware in Garden Center on Sacandaga Road had strong November and December sales due to the ice storm and early snowfalls. Owner Tony Dorazio said that his numbers were better than usual, and while the holidays do not usually affect his business, people shopping for products to protect themselves from the weather were also picking up stocking stuffers.
`While we don’t sell items such as ornaments and Christmas dEcor, we did have an influx of customers due to the storms and that in turn did help overall sales,` said Dorazio.
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