Lexington, KY - Fourth-quarter sales are vitally important in retail, but we all know it's not the entire three-month period we're talking about - just the four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. How important is this season for local business owners? Very. Successful retail sales depend on customer service as much as inventory selection, if not more, according to three local business owners who have shared their thoughts on the shopping season.
The Lexington Angler opened this fall on Clay Avenue. Celebrating its inaugural holiday season, the Chevy Chase store is an authorized dealer of Orvis products and offers tackle and other fly-fishing goods, as well as fly-casting lessons. 2011 is holiday season No. 3 for the gift-wrapping service known as Wrap It Up, Lexington. Electronics store Barney Miller's in downtown Lexington is in the midst of its 90th fourth quarter. Today the family-owned business focuses on installing and programming home entertainment systems.
Gene Slusher, owner, The Lexington Angler:
Online shopping takes a major toll on local shops throughout the year, but especially around the holidays. It is important for
shoppers to remember that local businesses need your support this time of year, and if you end up walking through the doors of the right shops, you might realize that shopping can be
more fun, more economical and more rewarding
than pointing and clicking from your desk.
A large portion of my business is through special orders for our customers, which typically need to be placed a week or so before Christmas. While
ordering in advance
cuts down on some of the last-minute shopping, we will surely see plenty of people here on Christmas Eve buying gifts
that we regularly carry in the store, and a plethora of folks coming in to pick up their orders. The personal connections we try to establish with everyone who walks through the door is felt a bit stronger this time of year, as we learn about our customers' families
and help them pick
out gifts for their loved ones. It is a neat way to form new friendships and to build a foundation for future sales.
Overall, my expectations are realistic for a new shop in this economy, and I am looking forward to interacting with the various folks who will find their way into my new store.
Jamie Etherton Adams, owner, Wrap It Up, Lexington:
It used to be that department stores would provide quality gift-wrapping services to their shoppers, but we've seen that steadily decline as the years go by. We find that our consumer clients are looking for a level of service above the mass-produced "mall wrap station." Of course, the holiday gift season is our peak season, but we offer our gift consulting and wrapping services year-round. Our typical customers are businesses or individuals who have purchased gifts and are in need of high-quality, professional gift-wrapping services. We also recently started offering private and corporate gift consultations, personal shopping and creative holiday-wrapping demonstrations and classes. We are focusing a lot more on marketing this year; we participated in the Lexington Junior League's Holly Day Market, we have updated our website and we are trying to increase referrals through word of mouth. Our hours are by appointment only, generally any day, with pick up and delivery service available.
Barney Miller, owner, Barney Miller's:
The business has truly changed a lot since the time my grandfather opened it in the 1920s, but the change in the past five or 10 years has been at warp speed, and because of that, a lot of people don't understand what we do.
We get calls every day from people who have tried to hook up their own electronics and it's not working quite right or they can't control everything with one remote. People don't understand it doesn't cost any more to get good advice and do it right the first time. You can even update your Facebook page on the TV while you're at it.
Technology for the home is amazing today; it can do a lot for you and it can be really easy to operate, but the kicker is it really takes a professional to install it right, wire it and program the controls so it's easy to use. Our typical holiday shopper is a family or couple who have decided to treat everyone in the house to a nice gift they'll use every day rather than buying a lot of little trinkets and baubles. The winter months when sports are in high action and folks are inside more (our peak season). People just really appreciate good home-entertainment systems when they're stuck inside and UK basketball is on and the Super Bowl's coming up.
Kathie Stamps posts grammar tips at www.facebook.stampscommunications.comr
, owner, Barney Miller's: