Spectrum Art & Jewelry

Star Sosa, owner
Wilmington, N.C.

Have you reduced your inventory levels? What needs to happen before you will feel comfortable increasing your inventory levels?

We started reducing our inventory levels in October 2008. It was like someone slammed the door shut on traffic; the gallery was empty. My inventory levels were reduced naturally, because I didn’t order any last-minute merchandise in the fourth quarter. I felt that if I could hold on until June, we could survive the crisis. That proved to be true.

Poppy

Barbara McCormick, owner
Columbia, Mo.

Have you reduced your inventory levels? What needs to happen before you will feel comfortable increasing your inventory levels?

Our inventory levels are steady. We can’t achieve normal sales without normal inventory levels, so I buy with the same enthusiasm I usually do. It helps that we pay for inventory without borrowing money—if we were paying interest to carry the inventory, we’d have to consider re-thinking our inventory policy.

Museum of Craft and Folk Art Store

Kpoene’ Kofi-Bruce, buyer and store manager
San Francisco, Calif.

How do this year’s sales compare to recent years’? Are you seeing a consistent decline or a slow improvement?

Our sales are down from last year, but are flat compared to 2007—some months have been up and some have been down. We rely very heavily on tourist and convention traffic.

This year’s sales goals have been about achieving a realistic sales plan with more affordable merchandise, and we will continue that approach for 2010. I think something that works well for our shop is that we have a large number of items for sale for under $50; in fact, 70% of our sales are items under $50.

The Muse

Whitney Bingham, owner
Frederick, Md.

How do this year’s sales compare to recent years’? Are you seeing a consistent decline or a slow improvement?

My business started to slow down mid-summer 2008, but I have had a strong 2009 so far and am back to where I would like to be. One thing I did was add more consignment merchandise to the mix. It’s allowed me to fill the store with fresh new merchandise without the expense and risk.