Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
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Friday, February 13, 2009
By PAUL COLLINS - Bulletin Staff Writer
Area retailers are hoping love will conquer all — even a recession — on Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day is “a love holiday,” said Sylvia Lewis at Simply the Best Flowers & Gifts in Martinsville. She added that she thinks some people are going to buy gifts despite the poor economy.
The National Retail Association is predicting about a 16.7 drop from last year in Valentine’s Day spending this year because of the recession.
But Lewis and several other local business representatives and officials said their sales are about the same as last year, and they expect that to continue through Saturday, Valentine’s Day.
Sharon Martin, owner and operator of Bryant-Everett Florist, 2614 Virginia Ave., Collinsville, said people want to try to make things a little brighter for their loved ones on that day.
Also helping this area this Valentine’s Day retail season is that this area already has suffered several years from an economic downturn, said Lee Probst, executive director of the Martinsville Uptown Revitalization Association. “We’ve had more experience with making it in a slowed economy” than a lot of the rest of the country, she said.
Romantics considering buying an arrangement of a dozen roses can expect to pay $65 (the same as last year) at Simply the Best, Bryant-Everett Florist and Shirley’s Floral Design in Bassett.
Sharon Martin of Bryant-Everett Florist said the cost she pays for roses has gone up slightly, but she is not passing it on to customers.
Shirley Amos, owner and operator of Shirley’s Floral Design in Bassett, said Thursday that her orders have picked up a lot this week, but sales still are down about 25 percent from last year. She expects to be busy today and Saturday, and she predicted that would leave her Valentine sales down about 15 percent overall.
The decline “is because of the economy; people don’t have jobs,” she said, adding that those who are working are more cautious about their spending. People getting their tax refunds are helping her sales, she said.
Kurt Merchant, owner of Jacque’s Jewelers at Liberty Fair Mall, said he is expecting Valentine’s Day sales at his store to be at least as good as last year, which he thinks would be an accomplishment during a recession.
“I think we’ve been doing well ... so far,” he said.
One strategy his store is using is offering more lower priced merchandise, such as diamonds set in sterling silver, along with gold jewelry. Many other jewelers also are doing this because the price of gold is near historic highs, about $900 an ounce, he said.
Judy Terry, owner and manager of Temptations Lingerie in Collinsville, said that sales have been about the same as last year, and she is pleased because she expected sales to be down because of the recession.
What may be helping is that lingerie and other romantic items her store sells are not big-ticket items. Couples “can spend a little bit and have a nice romantic evening at home,” she said. |
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