Retailers looking for a green Christmas

The calendar this year fated retailers to a short and not-so-sweet holiday shopping season.

With Thanksgiving coming late in November, there are only 27 days from Black Friday — the unofficial start date to Christmas shopping — through Christmas Eve. Last year, there were 32 days in that period.

That’s five days fewer for the season that matters most to many retailers.

“That only compounds some of the retail problems we’re looking at,” said Marc Schewel, president of the Lynchburg-based Schewel Furniture Company.

The other problems for retailers include sales that have fallen for several months, lower credit limits for consumers and fears that the worst of the economy is still to come.

Retailers have geared up for holiday shoppers to make the most of whatever comes this Christmas. A discount bookstore opened in River Ridge mall hoping to fit into people’s smaller Christmas budgets. Some local stores are increasing their hours and their advertising budgets.

Others are just accepting that this year might not be as good as they’d like.

“Most retailers are expecting a … very difficult Christmas season,” Schewel said.

During the first half of this year, sales data indicated that Lynchburg-area retailers didn’t have a lot to worry about. Most localities had more taxable sales than they had in the same time period of 2007.

That trend changed in July, according to new taxable sales data from the Virginia Department of Taxation.

In the third quarter of 2008, taxable sales in the region were $605 million, only 1.24 percent above sales in the same time in 2007. The slight increase was fueled by a 16 percent sales jump in Bedford County. Every other locality in the region saw at least a slight drop in sales.

Rex Hammond, president of the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the relatively flat sales growth is good news.

“To hold our own in this (economic) environment, most people would be pretty happy about,” he said.

“Now that gas prices have dropped again, hopefully it creates more upbeat, more optimistic outlook for consumers going into the Christmas season.”

Retailers are still waiting to see the effects of that.

“I’ve definitely seen a decrease (after) the summer,” said Jyl Niedbalski, owner of The Faery Godmother in downtown Lynchburg. She opened in early June and recently moved from Jefferson Street to Main Street to increase customer traffic.

“It is hard to get people in the door these days,” she said.

She’s trying a number of things to make her store’s first Christmas a successful one. On the day after Thanksgiving, which usually belongs to big-box stores, she offered a sale of 15 percent off everything in the store. On Saturday she gave 20 percent off during her Christmas open house.

She also extended the store’s hours to 8 p.m. and decided to open on Sundays until Christmas.

For a number of stores in the region, cutting prices is key to attracting shoppers, who retailers expect will spend less this season.

Giant Book Sale, which opened in River Ridge mall earlier this month, sells books as much as 80 percent below suggested retail prices.

So far, the lower prices are attracting a lot of customers. Sandy Harp, store manager, said it’s the only discount bookstore in the area, and people are looking for values.

The company usually opens stores for only a limited time, and the mall store originally planned to close after the Christmas season. But its success so far could change that.

“This particular store, because it’s been doing so well … we are anticipating we may stay,” said Sandy Harp, manager of the Lynchburg store.

Prices are also falling with furniture suppliers, allowing stores to pass savings on to customers.

Schewel said the company got a bedroom set from BroyHill at 55 percent off. Some discounts are as much as 65 percent.

Schewel, which has operated since before the Great Depression, still holds its own customer credit accounts. That means the credit crunch in banks hasn’t limited the company’s ability to sell on credit. “We think it will certainly help some.”

Boonsboro Pharmacy, which opened in September at the Boonsboro Shopping Center, also has in-house charge accounts. The store has loaded its floors with lots of Christmas merchandise for people to pick up.

“Unfortunately, you can’t make people go shop,” said Stephen Rudder, the lead pharmacist, who also oversees other store operations.

He said the slow sales are understandable. “When you’re losing hundreds of dollars a day in the stock market, it makes it harder to spend an extra couple hundred in the store.”

Shay Borel, owner of Shay’s Unique Gifts in downtown Lynchburg, agreed. She said people have been buying fewer of her customized Christmas ornaments at craft shows and in her store. But “I’m no one to talk,” she said. “I haven’t started Christmas shopping yet.”

Borel said she spent a lot of money on advertising this year, to no avail. “I don’t really know what to do … other than open the door and say, ‘come in and have anything you want,’” she said.

This year might not measure up to last year, but Borel shrugs it off and expects the economy to improve eventually. “If it doesn’t sell this year … it’ll sell next year.”