PHOTOS: Filed in Fair and West final folders
VIDEO: To be submitted on Thursday prior to this story going online
Reporting by Reece Alvarez, Danielle Brody and Evan Fallor
Main Street businesses across Fairfield and Westchester counties are holding their own revenue-wise with a steady stream of loyal customers and community support during what is expected to be a slightly down back-to-school shopping season.
Families are expected to cut back-to-school spending by an average of almost $40 per household, according to a July study by the National Retail Federation (NRF), a Washington D.C.-based retail trade association.
In Ridgefield, where most schools have already started, residents stocked up for back-to-school at Squash”™s Ridgefield Office Supply. At more than 40 years old, Squash”™s is one of the last remaining shops of its kind in the area. Store Manager Bill Bellion said parents like coming in because the staff knows where everything is located and is knowledgeable.
During the back to school shopping season about three weeks ago, the store had all the items on schools”™ supply lists. Shopping was “boom, boom, boom, 1, 2, 3,” Bellion said.
Assistant Store Manager Whitney Williams said many of her stores”™ prices are about the same or cheaper than big box stores. While they might not able to carry a massive stock, the store keeps prices about the same or cheaper than larger competitors by keeping a lean inventory and filling specialty custom orders quickly, she said.
The store has benefited from a following of longtime residents and newcomers who often start out shopping at the big stores until they discover Squash”™s, Bellion said.
“Once they know that we”™re here, it”™s like a fish ”” you grab them, you hook them and you pull them in,” he said.
Williams said during this shopping season, they tried to make the process easier for parents by partnering with local schools to deliver value packs with all the supplies kids need. Williams said they are working on growing that program.
“Parents love the fact that they”™re supporting the town,” she said.
In Bronxville, N.Y., a similar school supply partnership with the village”™s elementary school has drawn customers into Bronxville Stationers, said owner Johnny Lee. He has hopes for a boost in business in the coming weeks as schools open later in New York than in Connecticut.
“This year”™s business is about the same as last year”™s,” he said on Sept. 1. “Maybe next week it will get even busier.”
Though Kenny Jung, manager of Hastings Stationery in Westchester, said business has been hampered by the likes of Staples and other area big box chains, the store was bustling on Tuesday afternoon. Parents and children, including a group of four girls buying a combined 13 notebooks, packed the store before village schools opened the following day.
With binders starting at a reasonable $2.99, Jung said a major selling point of the business is its convenience and competitive prices.
“It”™s easier to come in here as opposed to going all the way to Staples,” he said. “Luckily in Hastings, everyone tries to support local businesses.”
Families also bought supplies like thermoses, lunch boxes and markers at The Toy Chest in Ridgefield, said Ann Lathrop, who has owned three locations in Fairfield County for nearly two decades.
Over the summer Lathrop offered a five percent discount to kids that participated in a summer reading program. “You have to be a little bit more creative,” she said of staying competitive. “People like to shop local.”
Lathrop said she sells specialty items that shoppers would have a hard time finding elsewhere, like puzzles with five to 32,000 pieces, Russian dolls and calming coloring books for adults. She said she does more targeted advertising and she keeps her prices competitive.
“If I can”™t be competitive I won”™t order it,” she said.
Birthday gifts are the next big seller at her stores with kids catching up on summer birthday celebrations now that everyone is back in town. She said her staff is skilled in suggesting gifts and the store offers complimentary gift wrapping, one of the many things she does to keep her customer base.
In the past few years, Lathrop has seen a shift with shoppers purchasing larger-sized items online. She stopped selling train sets and large play tables.
The average family with children in grades K-12 is expected to spend $630 on electronics, apparel and supplies, down from $669 in 2014. Still, families on average have spent 42 percent more on school items in the past decade, and total spending this year is expected to reach $24.9 billion, according to the study.
The NRF study reports more than 35 percent of back-to-school shoppers are expected to spend their money online to ease hectic schedules.
At Charles Department Store in Katonah, N.Y., a more than 90-year-old family run business, co-owner Jim Raneri said the Internet and big box stores are competition. He tries to avoid carrying items found in other department stores.
For Raneri, the need for information and most importantly, on-demand service, is an opportunity for him and his staff to show off their product knowledge and earn repeat business through their hands-on approach guiding customers through their purchases, he said.
“That”™s what makes the big difference between a small store like ours and a big box store ”” it is all about customer service,” Raneri said. “And the experience carries on even after you sell the product to the customer.”
