Local Merchants Left with Mixed Feelings after Disappointing Black Friday and Cyber Monday

While Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday proved to be lackluster compared with prior years, Pasadena merchants say they did see a much needed uptick in commerce as they work to balance their annual budgets.

The weekend following Thanksgiving is generally the busiest of the year at The Original Whistle Stop model train store in Pasadena, owner Fred Hill said. This year was no different, although sales were still down by well over half compared to non-pandemic seasons.

The annual rush is largely dependent on visitors to the city, he said. 

“With all the restrictions and everything, I just thought it’s going to be an average day, but we’ll do the best we can with what we got,” Hill said.

“I was surprised. We did have a lot of out-of-town people come in and we were busy. I didn’t quite make the mark that I always have made … but I was satisfied with that,” Hill said. 

“You get what you get, and it just still allowed me to continue. We were here for our customers and that’s the important thing. We had some new people come in the store that were looking for a [train] set around the tree. So we’re able to satisfy that. So as far as that’s concerned, I’m pleased with my so-called Black Friday,” he said.

While The Original Whistle Stop does business online, as a small business Hill said it doesn’t make sense to try to compete with massive retailers with Cyber Monday deals.

“We’re just a small specialty shop. We can’t afford to do heavy discounts like they do,” he said. “Our job is service… We don’t sell just model trains. We sell our service and we sell our reputation.”

With several weeks of holiday shopping still ahead, Hill said he’s planning to be ready “for whatever comes.”

“I’ve stocked the store up for it. I’ve decorated the inside of the store like what we do every year. I’m ready for whatever comes my way. I’ve got plenty of train sets in stock,” he said. 

“I look at this way: I’ll sell what I can. If I have some left over, well, I’ve got them for next year. I’m not going to panic. And so far, a lot of people have been coming in the store and looking at trains, or they’re bringing in their old train sets that need repair.”

Much of the damage inflicted by the pandemic and its related restrictions will never be undone, Hill said.

“There’s no such thing as catching up. The lost revenue because of the shutdowns and everything else, we’ve lost that revenue. So the only thing we can do is go forward. And being that we’ve been here since 1951, we’re just going to tighten it up a little bit and keep going forward and build it back up.”

Hill added that he was also concerned about his neighbors.

“I just hope that people will support all the local stores. I feel strongly about that, because I drive up and down Colorado [Boulevard] and I see the empty storefronts and closed stores and it just disheartens me,” he said. “In Pasadena, we’ve got a pretty strong community of businesses, individual business people and entrepreneurs. And I like to see the citizens of the city support them.”

Rebecca Dunn, who serves as executive manager of the nonprofit fair trade store Ten Thousand Villages in Pasadena, said specials and promotions could only do so much to offset the downturn in business last weekend.

“This year it felt noticeably slower. That could probably be expected,” she said.

“We did have quite a few more online orders than normal, granted,” she said. Nonetheless, “We didn’t make our goals of what we were hoping to make for that weekend.”

As a business centered around a fair-trade model, Dunn said Ten Thousand Villages had a difficult time competing with giants like Amazon and big box stores on price alone.

“We are a fair trade company. So that means the artisans are being paid a fair and living wage. And we’re a nonprofit,” she said.

The store has gone to great lengths to put safety measures in place, from social distancing to ample hand sanitizer supplies, Dunn said.

“So, if we are able to have customers that will be supportive of that and will support us with those measures in place, I feel pretty good going into the holiday season. However, I’m honestly checking the news every day, just wondering if we’re going to be open. It is really taxing,” she said.

“We are voting with our dollars right now. We are voting with what we want our post-pandemic world to look like. Do we want it to just be Amazon delivery or do we want our small businesses still in our community? And if we do want small businesses still in our community, then we have to vote with our money,” Dunn said. “That’s the only way that we’re going to ensure that small businesses are going to see the other end of this.”

Elisa B. women’s clothing store owner Elisa Bruley also reported lackluster foot traffic last weekend.

“Our Black Friday is usually crazy busy and this year it was really quiet, actually, by comparison to last year,” Bruley said. “I know the public is getting a lot of mixed signals from the city and county leaders about whether or not to stay home. On one hand, they’re telling people to shelter at home. But they’re also saying to support small businesses. So I think it was sort of a difficult year for customers to sort out what they should do.”

But Bruley said she remained optimistic about the weeks ahead.

“Definitely, our numbers and our traffic was down compared to last year, but I think the response that I’m getting from the majority of my clientele is that they want to support their favorite businesses during the holidays,” she said. “So I’m hopeful, and that’s all I can be at this point. There’s no point in not being hopeful. I’m just doing everything I can to keep my doors open.”

Bruley said she was making some changes to her inventory as a way to keep relevant during the pandemic.

“My business is very event driven. People come to me for dresses for parties and weddings and social gatherings and stuff like that. And since there’s none of that now, there’s just no reason to shop for those categories,” she said. “So I’m trying to sort of change my merchandise mix a little bit to accommodate a more casual sensibility right now.”

Tops have been a big seller lately, she said. “Obviously, people have to look good for their Zoom meetings. …And a lot of cozy things, because that’s what makes sense right now,” she added.

As the holidays approach, “I know that there will be a drop in business. I’m just hoping that I can keep doing enough business that I can keep my doors open,” Bruley said.

“I just hope that customers will understand that I can’t do the price cutting that [big companies] can, but I can offer something that will entice them to shop for me, and hopefully understand that even though they still have to wear a mask and be safe, nothing compares to the in-store experience, and they’re still going to get that from me.”

More information on the Original Whistle Stop is available online at thewhistlestop.com.

More information on Ten Thousand Villages can be found at https://www.villagespasadena.com/.

More information on Elisa B. is available at elisab.com.