May 25, 2009

Some Lower Cape businesses devising own ‘stimulus’ dealsBy Doreen LeggettWickedLocal.com

Cape Cod – When the stock market began its sharp, quick descent and people watched their dollars disappear due to derivatives; the oft-repeated refrain was everyone was taking a hit.

“From Wall Street to Main Street,” parroted business owner Ceci Hadawar. “Whenever you turn on the TV, if you can stand it.”

Wall Street got some help from the federal government, about $350 billion worth, but those on Main Street, such as Hadawar, who owns If the Shoe Fits in Orleans, took matters into their own hands.

She calls it an economic stimulus of a different kind, and necessary to combat the fear of buying that began last August and caused a number of businesses to see decreases of 30 percent on the bottom line. Other businesses held on with 10 percent or 15 percent losses, but even those who saw a hiccup in sales began to do things differently.

Hadawar and her peers in Orleans and on Main Street in Chatham haven’t been giving money away but they have been offering deals and devising creative ways to make sure customers come in.

“We all went through a pretty tough winter,” Hadawar said. “People are being told not to spend.” “I think they should be shot,” joked Michael Peretz of the pundits who are giving that advice.

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