Mar 20, 2009

Chattanooga: Longtime gift shop on marketBy Amy WilliamsTimesFreePress.com

Signal Mountain, TN — It could be said that Connie Blunt became a business owner by accident.

The Signal Mountain resident started her gift shop 28 years ago by selling items she bought during overseas trips.

“It started just from traveling and seeing things and buying them,” she said, describing trips over the years to England, France and Mexico.

Within three years, Mrs. Blunt had opened a store, keeping the name Brow Gallery. Earlier this month, the wife, mother and grandmother decided to sell her business to spend more time with her family.

“It’s very emotional,” Mrs. Blunt said of her decision to sell the shop.

Ms. Blunt said she loves the business she started back in 1981, but in recent years a big distraction started taking up more of her time: her five grandchildren.

Since putting the store up for sale, Mrs. Blunt has talked to about 15 prospects. She declined to reveal the selling price for the Brow Gallery, but she has not hired a broker and is handling the sale on her own.

Mrs. Blunt said the recession did not influence her decision to sell the business because sales have been steady for the past year.

Experts say that while it could be a risky time to buy a small business, it is a buyer’s market. The number of business sold in the United States was down 20 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, according to BizBuySell.com.

During markets like this one, buyers with cash could see some especially good deals, said Diane Halstead, Mary Harris distinguished professor of entrepreneurship at UTC.

“An established business such as the Brow Gallery, with a long history and a well established clientele, offers the advantage of a certain guarantee of repeat business for the new owner,” Dr. Halstead said.

“Retail stores need repeat customers to survive.”

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