If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#21
|
|||
|
|||
On Sat, 03 Jan 2004 03:58:35 GMT, Brenda Lewis
wrote: Having a planned stitch night or such can pay off, but a general expansion of hours often does not. Agreed, but maybe a more frequent shifting of hours is something that they should at least give serious consideration to. I have one LNS that is a few blocks away from a nearby train station and is open until 6 pm one night a week. If I can get out of my office a bit before 5:00 and catch the 5:30 express, I can get to that store before closing time on that day, then get back on the next train to finish my ride home. That's a big if. And this same store is only open until 4:00 on Saturdays. It's possible that they have a monthly open stitch night that i'm not aware of (as they stil have not been able to get me on their newsletter mailing list after 6 months...). If they were to stay open later, even if only till 7 pm that one night, I could shop there more often. Imagine how much more business they could pick up by staying open until 8... or until 7 two or three nights a week.... Jenn L. http://community.webshots.com/user/jaliace http://sewu9corn.blogspot.com Current projects: Simply Sensational January Calendar (Mill Hill) Lady of the Flag (Mirabilia) |
Ads |
#22
|
|||
|
|||
Brenda, you said this so well. If you live in an urban area, you just
have no clue what is going on in the 75% of the U.S. that is NOT urban. Many of these towns have been "broken" since the 1970's, and despair has set in so strongly that hope is about lost to these people. They have turned inward with a strange sort of clinging to the past that will never be, but too broke to claw their way out. Some of these towns did this to themselves (the one I'm living in), but most had outside forces that stripped them. The loss of manufacturing (large and small) and the change in social mores has devestated rural America. Thanks for an interesting read. Dianne Brenda Lewis wrote: Very few old-fashioned downtown merchants can afford to run businesses in the way modern shoppers desire. Mind you, I'm basing this on my old hometown which has a population of about 2500. Small specialty stores were operated by the owner and maybe one or two assistants. The assistants were often family members. Most buildings were built from 1890-1925 and the majority have housed several types of shops over the years. The family lived in an apartment over the shop and crammed their car (if they had one) in the alley behind the shop. The grocery store and bank had parking lots in addition to what was available along the street. Otherwise there were only two or three parking spots available per store on average. The parking issue limited how many customers a shop could have and how many unrelated employees it could have unless the owner played chauffeur or made deliveries or encouraged alternate transportation such as bicycles (no taxis or public transit in towns this size). While my hometown did not have parking meters, many surrounding communities did. Friendly neighbors would pick up a few things for the ill or elderly if the store didn't offer deliveries. Shoppers walked to the post office and grocery store daily (except Sundays and holidays). No one had a 26 cu. ft. refrigerator in the kitchen, a mammoth deep freeze in the basement, and a "snack" refrigerator in the garage. People actually cooked meals and ate together as a family instead of individually popping things in a microwave at each person's convenience. Several generations of a family lived in the same town and they knew the store owners (and vice versa). While strolling to get the mail and the day's food shoppers would pick up anything else needed at the other stores. No one would think of buying fresh milk at a variety store or a pair of shoes or a hammer at the grocery store although such things might happen in much smaller or very remote communities that had only one or two stores. Along come the big chain stores. They buy vast tracts of property along major roads between "work" towns and "bedroom" towns but are close enough to both to be convenient to all who can drive or find transportation. They have 300+ parking spots. The buildings are new and built to their specifications with tons of storage space--assuming you don't mind shopping in a place that looks like a warehouse. They are open (in some regions anyway) 24/7 except for maybe a few hours off on certain holidays. They own their own distribution facilities, truck lines, and even some production facilities. When they do buy products from other companies, they order massive quantities at deep discounts to supply an entire region of the state or country. They have tons of employees who are often treated as faceless slaves and they have little pride in the job they perform. It is the customer's job to walk around and find whatever item they want. After all, the night stockers put the items on the labeled shelves. It isn't any employee's fault that other shoppers pick up items from one place and discard them in another. Some took the miserable job just for the employee discount. Downtown merchants are not making up excuses. Owners have tried to hang on as long as possible to serve loyal customers. A one- or two-person shop cannot be open 24/7. You also cannot afford to keep the shop open three or four extra hours per day on the off chance someone might come in and buy one skein of floss (or birthday card, a couple of nails...). Chances are that person will complain about paying 60 cents for it when they could get it for 25 cents five miles down the road at the chain store. Having a planned stitch night or such can pay off, but a general expansion of hours often does not. Some old downtowns have one night a week that all stores are open and parking is free to encourage business. Downtown associations often sponsor holiday walks and design gift certificates that can be used at any downtown store. In some places these gimmicks do work. That is, if anyone sees the ads. More people get news on tv or online or read only large-city or national newspapers instead of reading the local weekly newspaper. While the stores might benefit from advertising in a county-wide paper, they certainly can't justify ads in the Wall Street Journal or USA Today even if that is what the locals read. Buildings were not required to meet ADA standards a century ago and there simply isn't enough floor or sidewalk space available to install a properly-graded entry ramp. No matter how much you care for those who are not blessed with full mobility, if you have only two parking spots on the curb in front of your building, you weep when the government requires one to be reserved for the handicapped or the city takes one away to make a wide curb cut. As the stores around you close, vandalism goes up which means your insurance goes up. Or the other stores close and are turned into bars which drives away many customers and makes your location very undesirable in the evening. If you have employees who are not a member of your family, you would rather let them get a job somewhere else if you can no longer pay them a wage they can live on because you care about them and their families. But how can these stores compete with vertical integration? A jeweler with all the equipment can design and cast original pieces or do repairs that chain stores can't, a grocer might buy produce from local farms so it is literally just-picked fresh, and anyone can sell trinkets with the town name or school mascot. The owner can be on a first-name basis with all the old regulars (and friendly to new people) and know where everything is, how much it costs, and go above and beyond to serve the customers. Do any of those mean enough to a frazzled mother of four who has just put in a nine hour day plus an hour commute each way when she has exactly 28 minutes to feed her crowd before shuttling them off to evening activities? There is probably nothing those store owners can do which will attract this person on a regular basis. Unfortunately, occasional customers don't generate enough business to get the bills paid. How about the loyal customer of ten years ago who is now retired only to have lost their retirement money to the poor economy and the $3,000/month for health insurance/treatment/medicine? No matter how much this customer cares for you as a person and wants your business to succeed, pennies must be pinched. My old downtown was a busy place. Now the jeweler, the pharmacist, and the owner of the variety store are dead with no one to carry on those businesses. The florist, hardware store, and several others didn't make it through the farm crisis of the 80's. Owners of the lumber yard and appliance store retired. The old grocer died and, after running the business for several years, his son sold the store to the grocer from the next town over. A doctor's office came and went. There have also been legal, insurance and tax businesses over the years. Some buildings have decayed beyond use. The old soda fountain is still there but is only open semi-occasionally since the owner's children are scattered across the country and they like to go visiting. The post office, city hall, and bank are still there. A couple of hair salons are still there but the owners are nearing retirement; I think they keep working because they like the gossip. There are the ubiquitous bars, eateries (always changing ownership) and a laundromat to serve the people who now rent the apartments above all the storefronts. Skateboarders and loiterers hang out at night and destroy the curbs, benches, and greenspace. All in all, it has become a dismal place. I don't see much hope for it. The remaining buildings need major renovations to come up to code. I wish those who are holding on all the best. Shstringfellow wrote: This is what I keep saying, too. The merchants downtown in our small city are always trying to find things to blame their poor business on, but it basically comes down to they are not sensitive to the needs of the modern customer- they are open 10:00-5:00 M,T,Th,F&S-they close at 1:00 on Wed. and are not open any evening hours, even at the holidays. If I work until 4:30 or 5:00, and need some little thing, do they think I'm going to wait until Saturday to get it? No, I'll run out to the nearest big box store and pick it up and more! |
#23
|
|||
|
|||
On 1/2/04 7:38 PM, in article , "Ellice"
wrote: On 1/2/04 5:39 PM,"Dianne Lewandowski" posted: Ellice wrote: I don't think the Needlework Industry on the whole is declining that much - it is the LNS that are hurting. The proliferation of web-shopping has done that. Many shops are surviving by doing e-business, or something else (my local that has most of the income from the frame shop, followed by the needlework portion of the shop & antique needlework boutique. Designers who sell directly to the public, retail - frequently LNS are stopping carrying them (why pay for the inventory if you're in competition to sell with the designer). My dream is for shops to be more like the one in Monica Ferris' Betsy Devonshire mystery books. All encompassing. The knitters; the lace makers; the canvas, counted and surface embroiderers all come to Monday Brunch, oooh and ahh at each other's work, occasionally do something new. Isn't that just a dream shop. Having the boutique in the store is interesting - lots of linens, brings in different shoppers. I wonder if someone could pull this off - a cooperative set of shops set in a "court yard" plaza/mall. A yarn shop, a needlework shop (with broad range of areas), a quilters shop, a finisher/framer, a tea/coffee shop, maybe even a bookshop all opening in to a courtyard area (not necessarily open to the air) with comfortable seating. And don't forget a nice bathroom; how many times has your enjoyment of something been affected by a gross bathroom. They all cooperate on costs of operation for heating, lights and the ilk but maintain separate inventory costs. Now - the most important part - a willingness to say "go ask X in shop Y about that". Maybe cross discipline classes too. Embellishing your crocheted sweater, canvas work with Fake Fur yarns..... It wouldn't be it a great place to shop. Just imagine..... Cheryl |
#24
|
|||
|
|||
In article , Brenda Lewis
writes: Some old downtowns have one night a week that all stores are open and parking is free to encourage business. Yep. Our lunchtime downtown Farmer's Markets were so popular that someone had the idea of offering a Thursday Night Market so those who work in what were once suburbs could frequent the Farmer's Market. The stores along that street were therefore open on Thursday nights, to catch the TNM crowd. Several of them found that 80% of their week's sales were between 5 and 9 PM on Thursday. And when TNM closed for the season, the storeowners nonetheless decided that they would return to their previous 5 PM closing, because it was too much trouble for them to be there that extra 4 hours a week. Even proving to them with their own eyes that a few extra open hours made a huge difference in their profits could not persuade them to stay open once the TNM organizers no longer required it. They went right back to fussing that extra hours meant extra pay for the workers and extra costs for lights and A/C. And complaining that they were barely making a profit. And the next year again during TNM season they did most of their business between 5 and 9 PM on Thursday, and again, the very next week after the last TNM, they went back to closing at 5 PM. I'm sorry, but it's hard to feel sorry for someone who sees their profits increase dramatically and promptly stops doing what made them go up. If you can only afford to be open 7 hours a day, don't waste all of them on the hours your employed customers are at work. Open at noon and close at 7 PM. Between 10 AM and noon, I'm practically the only person in the store. After the noon to 1:30 office worker lunch rush, I'm again practically the only person in the store till the first of the government workers start getting out at 4. Then the place is packed till they lock the doors at 5 ... preventing those who work till 5 (i.e., the 2/3 who *don't* work for the government) from buying anything there after work. Then I come home to my neighborhood, where the stores also, for the most part, close at 5 or 5:30, again preventing me from shopping there on weeknights. If I need cough syrup, I'm not going to do without till Saturday ... I'm going to go to the nearest store that's open weeknights. 100 years ago, most people were self-employed, which meant that they could hang out a sign "back in 10 minutes" and zip into a nearby store before that store closed. Now, most people punch a time clock, and can't do that. Store owners need to change with the times, not complain because their customers no longer live in the same century that their business practices were designed for. If I can get the floss I need at WalMart today AND save a quarter on it, I'm going to WalMart rather than waiting till Saturday to pay *twice* as much at LNS. I need it now, not four days from now. I've known too many family businesses (and been part of some of them) where it was understood that the business had to accommodate its customers' schedule. My extended family ran several bakeries ... people want to pick up pastries for breakfast at 6 AM, not when it was convenient for the owner to get to the store at 11 AM. I understand that if I won't give the customers what they want when they want it, they'll take their business to someone else who will. In my case, I'm not losing sales to WalMart, or to any other major corporation -- I'm losing sales to another one-person business. And once the client has found there's someone who'll move heaven and earth for them, that client generally doesn't come back. I try to be that person, even if it's inconvenient for me. If 80% of your clientele wants you to keep your store open till 6 or 6:30 so they can shop after work, you can just learn to eat dinner at 7:30. Or you can guarantee yourself that that 80% of your clientele is going to start going to the store that's open when they want to shop. It doesn't necessarily have to be WalMart, it could be the small store the next town over whose owner is willing to put his customers' needs ahead of his own. -- Finished 12/14/03 -- Mermaid (Dimensions) WIP: Angel of Autumn, Calif Sampler, Holiday Snowglobe, Guide the Hands (2d one) Paralegal - Writer - Editor - Researcher http://hometown.aol.com/kmc528/KMC.html |
#25
|
|||
|
|||
We had something that was a little bit like this here. In the corner of the
L of the shopping center was a small courtyard/portico with little shops, and plants. It was composed of my cross-stitch shop which is also a frameing shop; then there was the tailoress, who did alterations; a travel agent; a silk flower shop; a hairdresser and just around the corner the Health Food shop, which had some tables in it, so you could sit and have something to eat. Well, last fall Amanda heard a horrid cracking sound in the roof of the LNS, and cracks appeared along the walls. After a lot of surveying work, it was found that all the structural support for the roof are had rotted clear through. Therefore, the entire area has to be razed. The LNS is moving next to Radio Shack, in the same shopping center, but the rest has gone. I was in there yesterday, and it is the only shop which is left open. They will move around the end of the month. I have offered to be a pair of hands in this great moving project of about 100 yards! Gillian Florida "Cheryl Isaak" wrote in message ... " I wonder if someone could pull this off - a cooperative set of shops set in a "court yard" plaza/mall. A yarn shop, a needlework shop (with broad range of areas), a quilters shop, a finisher/framer, a tea/coffee shop, maybe even a bookshop all opening in to a courtyard area (not necessarily open to the air) with comfortable seating. And don't forget a nice bathroom; how many times has your enjoyment of something been affected by a gross bathroom. They all cooperate on costs of operation for heating, lights and the ilk but maintain separate inventory costs. Now - the most important part - a willingness to say "go ask X in shop Y about that". Maybe cross discipline classes too. Embellishing your crocheted sweater, canvas work with Fake Fur yarns..... It wouldn't be it a great place to shop. Just imagine..... Cheryl |
#26
|
|||
|
|||
I'm in the greater Boston area and most of the local LNSs are open late
one night a week. One closes from 5-7 for dinner, then reopens from 7-9. Meredith Karen C - California wrote: In article , Brenda Lewis writes: Some old downtowns have one night a week that all stores are open and parking is free to encourage business. Yep. Our lunchtime downtown Farmer's Markets were so popular that someone had the idea of offering a Thursday Night Market so those who work in what were once suburbs could frequent the Farmer's Market. The stores along that street were therefore open on Thursday nights, to catch the TNM crowd. Several of them found that 80% of their week's sales were between 5 and 9 PM on Thursday. And when TNM closed for the season, the storeowners nonetheless decided that they would return to their previous 5 PM closing, because it was too much trouble for them to be there that extra 4 hours a week. Even proving to them with their own eyes that a few extra open hours made a huge difference in their profits could not persuade them to stay open once the TNM organizers no longer required it. They went right back to fussing that extra hours meant extra pay for the workers and extra costs for lights and A/C. And complaining that they were barely making a profit. And the next year again during TNM season they did most of their business between 5 and 9 PM on Thursday, and again, the very next week after the last TNM, they went back to closing at 5 PM. I'm sorry, but it's hard to feel sorry for someone who sees their profits increase dramatically and promptly stops doing what made them go up. If you can only afford to be open 7 hours a day, don't waste all of them on the hours your employed customers are at work. Open at noon and close at 7 PM. Between 10 AM and noon, I'm practically the only person in the store. After the noon to 1:30 office worker lunch rush, I'm again practically the only person in the store till the first of the government workers start getting out at 4. Then the place is packed till they lock the doors at 5 ... preventing those who work till 5 (i.e., the 2/3 who *don't* work for the government) from buying anything there after work. Then I come home to my neighborhood, where the stores also, for the most part, close at 5 or 5:30, again preventing me from shopping there on weeknights. If I need cough syrup, I'm not going to do without till Saturday ... I'm going to go to the nearest store that's open weeknights. 100 years ago, most people were self-employed, which meant that they could hang out a sign "back in 10 minutes" and zip into a nearby store before that store closed. Now, most people punch a time clock, and can't do that. Store owners need to change with the times, not complain because their customers no longer live in the same century that their business practices were designed for. If I can get the floss I need at WalMart today AND save a quarter on it, I'm going to WalMart rather than waiting till Saturday to pay *twice* as much at LNS. I need it now, not four days from now. I've known too many family businesses (and been part of some of them) where it was understood that the business had to accommodate its customers' schedule. My extended family ran several bakeries ... people want to pick up pastries for breakfast at 6 AM, not when it was convenient for the owner to get to the store at 11 AM. I understand that if I won't give the customers what they want when they want it, they'll take their business to someone else who will. In my case, I'm not losing sales to WalMart, or to any other major corporation -- I'm losing sales to another one-person business. And once the client has found there's someone who'll move heaven and earth for them, that client generally doesn't come back. I try to be that person, even if it's inconvenient for me. If 80% of your clientele wants you to keep your store open till 6 or 6:30 so they can shop after work, you can just learn to eat dinner at 7:30. Or you can guarantee yourself that that 80% of your clientele is going to start going to the store that's open when they want to shop. It doesn't necessarily have to be WalMart, it could be the small store the next town over whose owner is willing to put his customers' needs ahead of his own. |
#27
|
|||
|
|||
I wonder if someone could pull this off - a cooperative set of shops set in
a "court yard" plaza/mall. A yarn shop, a needlework shop (with broad range of areas), a quilters shop, a finisher/framer, a tea/coffee shop, maybe even a bookshop all opening in to a courtyard area (not necessarily open to the air) with comfortable seating. BRBR I've been thinking about this, too. I'd add boutiques for weavers and rug hookers and a sewing store with high quality fabrics, plus a chocolate shop and a gallery area for changing exhibits (and sale) of works by local fiber artists (to bring in, and perhaps convert, folks who are not needleworkers). I'd use the courtyard not just for seating, but for demonstrations of techniques and classes. The bookstore would be important to give non-stitching spouses something to do and maybe one or two other shops selling stuff with cross over appeal, such as a hobby shop with models and miniature furniture and an electronics boutique emphasizing soft and hardware for stitchers. All the shops could pool their resources (and save some overhead) to do a joint newsletter, advertising, and a website. Make it a real destination place that would pull not only from a wide local area but be a must see for tourists, too. Annie |
#28
|
|||
|
|||
100 years ago, most people were self-employed, which meant that they could
hang out a sign "back in 10 minutes" and zip into a nearby store before that store closed. Last week my daughter and I paid a visit to what would be her LNS if she wasn't flinging her money around on silly things. We go together maybe two or three times a year -- near Christmas and birthdays, mostly. The employee running the story had apparently seen us there before, and we chatted as we looked at over-dyed floss. Later, she asked us if we were going to be there for a few more minutes. Of course we said "yes" -- we can spend hours there! She then asked us if we'd "keep an eye on things" so she could run next door for change! She was hardly out the door when Jo turned to me and said "Quick, Mom, grab all the charts and floss you can carry and let's make a run for it!" ! Of course, we didn't. But it was a teeny bit tempting. Katrina L. |
#30
|
|||
|
|||
This requires a group of people with a single minded position that "This
Will Work!" and a cooperation not always there, but can be with the right leader. Where I lived in Illinois, I put together a "partnership" and hand-picked who I would work with in each area: government, chamber of commerce, public sector. It worked! Money poured in, government gave, chamber of commerce came to terms with what needed to be done, things moved in the right direction . . . public volunteered labor - even a judge. When I left 5 years later it fell apart. Not because I left (someone in charge was just as competent), but because the government changed hands, the businesses began grousing again, the public wasn't kept informed. Rivalry ensued. Jealousy, backpiting, petty grievances. It's tough to keep it going, but it CAN be done. I love this disucssion and the thoughts of a successful "Dream Shop". It makes perfect sense, to me. Everything everyone's described. Dianne FKBABB wrote: I wonder if someone could pull this off - a cooperative set of shops set in a "court yard" plaza/mall. A yarn shop, a needlework shop (with broad range of areas), a quilters shop, a finisher/framer, a tea/coffee shop, maybe even a bookshop all opening in to a courtyard area (not necessarily open to the air) with comfortable seating. BRBR I've been thinking about this, too. I'd add boutiques for weavers and rug hookers and a sewing store with high quality fabrics, plus a chocolate shop and a gallery area for changing exhibits (and sale) of works by local fiber artists (to bring in, and perhaps convert, folks who are not needleworkers). I'd use the courtyard not just for seating, but for demonstrations of techniques and classes. The bookstore would be important to give non-stitching spouses something to do and maybe one or two other shops selling stuff with cross over appeal, such as a hobby shop with models and miniature furniture and an electronics boutique emphasizing soft and hardware for stitchers. All the shops could pool their resources (and save some overhead) to do a joint newsletter, advertising, and a website. Make it a real destination place that would pull not only from a wide local area but be a must see for tourists, too. Annie |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Limited number of posts here | Peter W. Meek | Knots | 1 | March 28th 05 08:02 PM |
fixing ear posts to titanium? | Des Bromilow | Jewelry | 4 | August 10th 04 04:45 PM |
OT - Posts not showing up | Jalynne | Beads | 5 | July 15th 04 03:44 AM |
About rolling mills..... | HoyoD | Jewelry | 28 | November 6th 03 10:02 AM |
Number of Posts | Joan Robertson | Needlework | 1 | August 19th 03 11:15 PM |