Local Holiday Shopping Results Mixed

By Kevin Gray

The Christmas shopping season in Osawatomie appeared to be on an upswing for some, yet other business owners were not so sure.

No doubt, many local people shopped at home, which is why Donna and Viola’s Shirt shop did well, yet Moon’s Hometown Market did not see business similar to the previous holiday season.

Donna Eichorn from Donna and Viola’s Shirt shop said that, compared to selling her products out of her home, she was not prepared for the increase in sales in her new shop downtown.

“It was overwhelmingly wonderful. The foot traffic was so great. When I was set up at home, people would not come in because it was my house. They especially avoided dropping by during what they figured would be dinnertime. Those who did found out it was no bother,” Eichorn said.

Eichorn said moving to the shop made for the perfect work location.

“It is the most peaceful place to work, which made it the most peaceful Christmas experience for me.”

Osawatomie Chamber of Commerce Director Shelagh Wright said she thought Eichorn’s business had improved.

“Since moving downtown, I think her business is booming. Donna is up there working really late most nights, trying to get her Christmas orders out,” Wright said.

Wright could not say with any accuracy yet about how she thought local businesses did this Christmas, but she hoped it was good.

“We really tried to promote shopping locally by doing the 12 days of Christmas promotion. We did some advertising for the 16 local businesses that chose to participate. They came up with 16 daily specials to run weekdays (and some did weekends as well), from Dec. 9 through the 24th. We advertised it in the papers, then the Chamber sent out daily emails telling what the specials for the day were. The businesses then advertised their own specials themselves through fliers and word of mouth,” Wright said.

Those who participated were Auten Pharmacy, Above The Collar, Coach Light Fashions, Dean’s Jewelry, Don’s Barber Shop, Main Body Works, Hanes Florist, Radio Shack, Spencer Nicole’s, Main Street Liquor, Landmark Restaurant, Pizza Hut, M & L Collectibles, Moon’s Hometown Market, Nice as New and Donna and Viola’s Shirts.

Eichorn attributed sales to not just moving to the downtown location, but to an added Direct to Garment printer, which allowed her to add photo and clip art printing, as well as screen and transfer printing.

“There were so many more and different things I could do in the shop, and I was better prepared. I went home for Christmas all right, but I went home exhausted. A good exhausted!” Eichorn said.

Christmas had also been good for Joyce Schrader at Coach Light Fashions, she thought, but her take on how well came from a different perspective.

“It had to have been a better Christmas because I have a lot less gift wrap left compared to last year’s roll,” Schrader said with a laugh.

Schader said she has not done the books, yet, but that her hollies and berries paper did better than the Christmas trees. “I know this is a crazy way, but I feel this year was better than last. I keep both rolls of paper right here on the shelf, and this year’s roll is much smaller than what was left last year. We used a little of last year’s paper, but there is still a lot less of this year’s roll,” Schrader said.

People appeared to have started out later, Schrader said. “After Thanksgiving, it was slow, but then it broke loose. Maybe people got paid, but they certainly started coming in,” Schrader said.

Sweaters with unusual designs or that had designs, Schrader said, sold well.

“We also wrapped a lot of jewelry.”

While a steady stream of customers came and went in Radio Shack, a few days after the fire right next door in MiLady’s Hair Care & Nail Salon, Curtis Gibson reflected on the Christmas season.

“It went better than we thought, but never as good as we would like,” Gibson said.

Gibson, who mentioned a lingering smoke smell in his shop and pointed to a HEPA Defendair machine clearing the air, said business was slow at first.

“But it got steadier after the Bush tax cuts were passed. When all that back there in Washington got straightened out, I think this gave shoppers a better idea of what they could spend and how taxes would hit them,” Gibson said.

There were no real hot items, Gibson said, but there were many solid selling items. “Gaming and gaming accessories always sell well, as do scanners. Toys didn’t sell all that well.”

Selling scanners, Gibson said, is not a popular thing with police departments.

“They said it helps criminals. Well, there are a lot of people around here with scanners who help the police because of those scanners. People look out for one another. During the fire next door, I heard on my scanner from my home in Linn County that the police were looking for my number. I called the police while on the way to let them know I was coming,” Gibson said. “My own scanner really helped me in an emergency, so I could get there and unlock the doors.”

Flood Zone owner Tony Savage said they had planned to close early on Christmas Eve.

“We planned to close at 11 p.m. But people kept coming in, so we stayed open until 2 a.m. A lot of people had family and friends in town and were looking for somewhere to go. We also did well with Karaoke that night because people were looking to check out the local entertainment,” Savage said.

Business at Moon’s Hometown Market was down from 2009, said owner Mike Moon.

“Compared to last year, business was down considerably. But last year, we had that terrific snow and white Christmas, which changed the plans for a lot of people. You get a heavy snow, and this influences people and their needs,” Moon said.

This year, Moon felt too many people were shopping elsewhere.

“Our store was ready for business, but maybe some people chose to shop closer to where they work. Maybe they feel they can’t find certain things here in Osawatomie. And when you have a bad economy, this will be bad on business, which multiplies 100 times locally,” Moon said.

Moon said he knows local business owners, as well as himself, are trying hard to satisfy the needs of their customers.

“Hopefully, we can provide something they can be proud of,” Moon said.

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Posted by admin on Jan 5 2011. Filed under News and Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry