Turns out booze really is recession proof. Retail sales at ABC stores statewide were up 12.3 percent in October compared to the previous year. Sales to mixed beverage licensees (bar and restaurant owners) dipped in August by 5 percent from 2007. But the numbers leapt back up to a growth of 4.5% in September and… Read more »
Retail
Coming soon: Movieland to open in Feb., hire 60
Richmond’s first new movie theater in more than three decades will open in February, if all goes according to plan. Movieland at Boulevard Square will start hiring after the holidays and will employ about 60 people, said co-owner Charley Moss. Last year, the company began renovating the old locomotive assembly plant, most recently occupied by… Read more »
Local consumers mixed about holiday shopping
In a good sign for retailers, five of the shoppers said they plan to spend the same amount as last year. But the other four said they plan to spend less. Retailers here and across the country are wondering how consumers will spend their money during the holiday season, so BizSense headed to Carytown on… Read more »
Short Pump Town Center gets a little more social
Add Short Pump Town Center to the list of businesses that want in on the social networking trend. The mall’s owners plan to launch Shoptopia.com this week as a new site aiming to direct shoppers who enjoy online shopping to local brick-and-mortar shopping centers. The site was developed by Denver-based Mallfinder Network.
You say compulsive shopping; I say retail therapy
Consumers are keeping a tighter grip on their checkbooks these days, but millions of others just can’t control themselves. Nearly 9% of adults may be compulsive buyers, according to a study conducted by University of Richmond marketing professors Nancy Ridgway and Monika Kukar-Kinney. UR professor Kent B. Monroe, also of the University of Illinois at… Read more »
Local luxury retailers hang tight
Luxury retailers may be in for a cold winter. After witnessing a decline in sales at the tail end of the summer, luxury brands like Saks, Nordstrom and Tiffany & Co. are bracing for what could be an even weaker holiday season. Local high-end retailers and other business operators say business is holding steady.
Trader Joe’s Opens at Short Pump Station
A light rain didn’t put a damper on turnout for the highly-anticipated opening of the new Trader Joe’s store in the Short Pump Station shopping center. The colorful, Hawaiian-themed store opened Friday morning to a huge crowd. During our visit around 10:00 a.m. Friday, the checkout lines were backed up well into the aisles.
Holiday Hiring Market Shrinking, Competition Growing
American retailers are cutting back on the holiday hiring market, according to a survey from Richmond-based job-seekers’ website SnagAJob.com. The number of jobs is going down, while the number of people applying for jobs is going up. That means increased competition for fewer spots. And that means harder work for job seekers, who will have… Read more »
Carytown vacancy declines
Vacancy in Carytown seems to be declining. It’s been three months since we walked through Carytown to figure out how many unoccupied buildings lined the streets. At the time, we counted 22 empty buildings, or about 13% of the storefronts there. (Note, our figures are not calculated using square footage.) There are currently 17 empty… Read more »
Follow-up Q&A with Ashland’s director of planning
An Ashland official is excited about new developments like Bass Pro and a proposed outlet center in Hanover County. Zach Robbins, Acting Director for the Department of Planning & Community Development in the Town of Ashland, had a few thoughts about a story BizSense ran last week on Ashland’s retail scene.