How's Business?

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that sales are mixed:

Going into this holiday season at Mt. Lebanon's Empire Music, owner Joe Ravita's anxiety meter was turned up to 11.

"From what you heard, it was supposed to be the end of the world," he said.

But Mr. Ravita was surprised and delighted to tally up his holiday sales and find that they had actually increased about 10 percent over last year. His 6-year-old store generally does about 20 percent of its annual business during the Christmas season, he said.

His guess for how Empire bucked a bad economy: offering knowledgeable customer service and building a loyal customer base through a vibrant schedule of lessons, such as a new "Rock School" program.

As shoppers packed mall parking lots yesterday in search of deep discounts, several local retailers said that they had not felt the pinch -- or the flat-out sucker punch -- that national retailers did. . . .

Rollier's hardware store in Mt. Lebanon, which sells everything from jackets to plumbing fixtures, felt some symptoms of the national downturn, said owner Doug Satterfield.

The store prides itself on a large selection of Christmas supplies and ornaments, sales of which were down about 20 percent from last year, he said.

But because most of the dropoff was in lights and outdoor decorations, Mr. Satterfield thinks that the economy wasn't the main factor.

"I think the weather, more than the economy, affected our sales," he said, noting the succession of cold and unpleasant December weekends.

For the first time ever, the store started discounting its Christmas merchandise before Dec. 25, he said, and will continue progressively discounting through the beginning of 2009.

Business in the store's other departments has been strong, he said, with the exception of some of the big-ticket items such as luxury bathroom vanities. "We didn't see the effects like the malls did," he said. "Our customer count wasn't down. I just didn't see people filling their buggies as much as last year."

A couple blocks down Washington Road, the stationery store More Than Words also saw a dropoff in retail sales during the holiday season but more than made up for it with an increase in custom orders, said owner Barb Johnson.

Even yesterday, as customers browsed 50 percent off holiday cards, Ms. Johnson was meeting with a newly engaged couple looking at wedding invitations.

"Everybody's retail sales are down, but there's obviously people who still want something special, and are willing to pay the price for that," she said.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/08362/938009-28.stm