Retail woes

Posted on Wednesday, August 19, 2009, at 12:44 pm, by Alethea Oglethorpe.

We are frequently asked by well-wishers (or at least I hope that’s what they are) how Archelaus is weathering the current economy. I am pleased to report that the answer is “surprisingly well, thank you.” Indeed, those of you who follow this blog should have noticed that we have undergone a considerable expansion since the National Stationery Show in May. We have not detected any slump in sales at the local open-air markets we attend, either. To the contrary, out of the 112 markets we have gone to over the last four years, nine of our ten highest grosses have occurred since last October.

It must be acknowledged, however, that the recession has caused cashflow problems for some of the fine merchants who carry our cards. As a result, a few of them (and they know who they are!) have fallen behind in paying their invoices. We are struggling to find the right balance between being understanding about their difficulties and insistent about demanding our hard-earned money.

It is clearly a tough time for retailers generally. Today I took a walk through the cluster of stores surrounding the Cleveland Park Metro entrance, and I counted eleven empty storefronts, meaning that about one out of every seven retail spaces is currently vacant. A twelfth shop had a sign in the window stating that it would be closing soon. Of course, Cleveland Park is a comfortably well-off sort of neighborhood. If it were not, no doubt things would be much worse.

Comments (closed):

Alethea Oglethorpe wrote on October 17, 2009, at 3:47 pm:

A wine merchant has now moved into one of the previously empty stores.