Table of Contents
Cover Story:
Putting All The Pieces Together
County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef keeps Rockland in his sights
as he looks ahead to the Governor's race.
Feature Story:
Everybody's Going Downtown
What four of the county's villages are doing to encourage economic
development.
Feature Story:
The Expo's Coming!
Annual Business-to-Business event partners RBA with Mahwah Regional
Chamber of Commerce.
DEPARTMENTS:
Economics Roundup
• What's Your Investment Behavior?
• Taxes and Long-Term Care Insurance
Business Roundup
• HVCFI Accepting Applicants
• The Fine Art of Advertising
Retail Round-Up
• It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
• New in Town
Ask the Expert
• Human Resources
• Legal Matters
• Workplace Hotline
• Information Technology
Invest in Your Community
• Make-A-Wish Foundation
• JCC-Y of Rockland's Capital Campaign
• Other News
Odds & Ends
• From The Publishers
• PR Patter
• Reaching Out to Small Business
• Rockland Joins the Empire
• Big News for Local Small Businesses
Dedicated Section:
Rockland Business Association:
The President’s Desk
Empire Zone designation, grant programs drive new opportunities for
business.
The Investor Hotline
Avoid these three common mistakes
RBA Happenings
• Other News
• Committee and Council Info
• Calendar of Events
• New Members
Retail
Roundup:
It's The Most Wonderful
Time of the Year
By Adrian Burke
Back to school shopping has local registers ringing.
Making their way through the Palisades Mall earlier this month, Michael Lattari and Travis Pastore were typical of shoppers looking for back-to-school bargains. “We’re looking for clothes and sneakers, but we’re kind of on a budget,” said Pastore, a high school junior from Westchester, who was shopping at the mall on Sunday.
The pair ticked off a list of their favorite stores: PacSun, American Eagle, Abecrombie & Fitch, and Hollister before heading off looking for an all-important two-for-one sale.
Downstairs, at Staples, throngs of parents with wrinkled school supply lists clutched in their fists filled shopping carts with binders, colored folders, pens, pencils and calculators.
Over in Spring Valley, Mandrine Ballenga of Congers was shopping for new shoes for her two daughters at Kids Foot Locker in the Nanuet Mall. “Our next stop is to find some cute backpacks,” said Ballenga. “And then lunch.”
A quick survey of the Target store in the Spring Valley Marketplace,
along with the Office Depot in Nanuet found similar results,
with long lines and crowded parking lots. Although economic experts
had predicted higher gas and energy prices might put a damper
on consumer spending, the recent drop in those prices seems to
have encouraged Rockland shoppers to get out and spend after
all.
Back-to-school shopping means a lot to the cash registers of
Rockland retailers—large and small. Families with school-aged
children said they'll spend an average of $527 on back-to-school
purchases this year, well above last year's $444 average, according
to the National Retail Federation (NRF). Total spending should
reach $17.6 billion, up from $13.4 billion.
Toss in back-to-college spending and the season's expenditures should top $54.2 billion, second only to the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's.
According to the NPD, mass merchants such as Target and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are consumers' top choice for back-to-school shopping. But in the county, many shoppers also head to their local retailers for items such as clothing, shoes, school supplies and more.
In Pearl River, Anne McKnight, who is from the Bronx, was visiting relatives and stumbled upon Madelyn Rose, a new store on Central Avenue that sells eclectic children’s clothes and shoes. “This was a great find. I stocked up on some cute tee-shirts for my daughter, who is in second grade,” said McKnight. “I usually hit the mall for most of the basics, but I like to look for unique stuff, when it comes to clothes.”
Crucial period for retailers
Back to school shopping and the holiday shopping period —from
Thanksgiving to December 24 offer the biggest returns for retailers
and a disappointing season can put a serious dent in their bottom
line. The success of the back-to-school shopping season helps retailers
gauge how strong the Christmas holiday season is likely to be,
along with allowing the retailers to pinpoint emerging trends and
popular products prior to the start of the holiday shopping season.
Even with higher energy costs and the repeal of the sales-tax free week, consumer spending in Rockland seems steady. High gasoline prices have not driven people to avoid shopping altogether, said Michael Niemira, the NRF council's chief economist and research director.
"Back-to-school items tend to be viewed as more essential, and not discretionary, for the consumer," Niemira said, adding that bargain-conscious shoppers are a 2006 norm.
Locally, even the repeal of the annual sales-tax-free week hasn’t seemed to put a damper on shopping. “Tax-free weeks always were a big hit with shoppers,” said Retail Council President and Chief Executive Officer James R. Sherin. “Retailers enjoyed them, too, because they gave the stores something special to promote twice each year.”
Big sellers, locally
While NRF is cautious about the 2006 outlook, several categories
of specialty retailing should realistically continue to achieve
solid sales growth this year.
They include clothing and accessory stores (which include shoe stores and jewelry stores), food and beverage retailers, and health and personal care retailers. These categories are expected to see steady sales gains in the 4.0 to 5.0 percent range.
The big sellers such as electronic items—as in computers,
personal digital assistants and calculators—and back-to-school
apparel are both expected to drive this year's sales numbers.
Federation President Tracy Mullin said back-to-school is "...an
important bellwether for the holiday season" during which
retailers will closely monitor which items sell best and which
don’t.
Those top performers will undoubtedly return in spades during the pre-Christmas rush. RBD
Where Consumers Plan to Shop for Back-to-School:
• Discount stores: 72.2%
• Department stores: 53.3%
• Specialty stores: 30.9%
• Office Supplies stores: 35.8%
• Drug Store: 16.3%
• Online: 15.2%
• Catalogs: 5.0%Average Back-to-School Spending
By Category, by family for primary and secondary school children
• Electronics/Computers: $114.38
• Apparel/Accessories: $228.14
• Shoes: $98.34
• School Supplies: $86.22
What’s New in Town?
• Cold Stone Creamery and Brooklyn Oven Pizza are coming to New City. Both will open soon in the new shopping at 170 North Main Street, joining New York Karate, CGI Yoga Center, Vanderbilt Home Center, Citibank and Coldwell Bankers. Also in New City, Scottrade, an online brokerage firm opened an office on Main Street.
• Hunter Douglass North America Inc., a manufacturer of window blinds, shades and shutters plans to build a 75,000 square foot office building in Pearl River. The company will relocate its headquarters from Upper Saddle River, NJ to the new facility in Rockland County by 2009. Hunter Douglass currently employs 115 workers at its current headquarters.
• The Runcible Spoon, the Nyack bakery and sandwich shop, opened a new location at The Harbors in Haverstraw.
• Madelynrose will soon serve Rockland with a fresh alternative in children’s clothing and shoes. Located in the heart of downtown Pearl River, Madelynrose’s modern product mix and untraditional retail style welcome all shoppers to browse their aisles and relax in a friendly atmosphere. The store is the brainchild of two local businesswomen—Michelle Worob is the co-owner of Luigi O’Grady’s Deli & Catering of Pearl River and Lisa Dorman is the Vice President of Finance for Greenan Business Products, with offices in Manhattan and Pearl River.
If you have a new retail business opening or expanding in Rockland County, let us know so we can spread the news. Send the specifics of your event, including photos to: editorial@rbdigest.com
