Dec 4, 2008

Independent shops wonder what’s in store for the holidaysBy Sharon GinnTampaBay.com

The holiday shopping season may be in full swing, but local independent retailers are feeling more cautious this year than joyful.

They don’t need to read the headlines to know we’re in a recession. All the evidence they need is in the increasing number of empty storefronts dotting the city’s busiest shopping districts.

For store owners, this holiday season is about survival. All the owners contacted by the Times said they have never faced a more nerve-wracking economic climate. Some are leaning on friendly service and trying to drum up community support to make their small storefronts shine alongside malls and big box retailers.

“I saw Desert Storm, I’ve seen recessions come and go, I’ve seen 9/11, hurricanes,” said Maruchi Azorin, who founded Villa Rosa Distinctive Linens at MacDill Avenue and Bay to Bay Boulevard nearly 25 years ago. “And yes, this is (the toughest).”

Black Friday last week brought relief to some, but owners don’t know if it will be enough.

Azorin said smaller, independent stores usually don’t expect crowds on Black Friday because it’s hard to compete with the mall’s marketing push. That said, “we were busy all day,” she said. “I was shocked.”

She did not have total sales figures from that weekend, but “whether tickets were bigger or smaller, lots of little tickets make up a big one.”

Still, she described herself as optimistic, but cautious.

Darian Petrucci, founder of Estella’s on Bay to Bay, said her weekend sales were equivalent to last year’s Thanksgiving weekend, which were the best in her store’s 12-year history.

She was very pleased but still unsure about what the rest of the season will hold. “You turn on the news and it’s like no one is shopping,” she said.

Knowing a downturn was probably imminent, many store owners opted months ago to stock more practical, affordable items for this holiday season.

“I think (shoppers) are going to be looking for very functional things,” said Carol Schultz, co-owner of Cazou tableware and accessories store on S Dale Mabry. “I know they are thinking it through, they’re not just grabbing. It has to make sense.”

Petrucci still stocks higher-end gifts, but also has inexpensive items on hand this year.

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