Another longtime downtown Bend merchant was saying to me how she thought the Saturday crowd was "different." As in, "harder to deal with."
"Really?" I said. "I thought I was the only one who felt that way."
"No," she answered. "I think most retailers feel that way."
**********
Duncan's Bubble Laws. (If you'll indulge me.)
1.) Bubbles go higher and last longer than you think they will.
2.) They end quicker than you think they will. (I know that seems like a contradiction, but both feel true.)
3.) They end from an unforeseen and unpredictable event.
4.) They drop further (usually past where they started) and last longer than you think they will.
Obviously, we're dealing with the fourth of the laws.
And I keep reminding myself, Further and Longer.
Further and longer.
Yesterday, Friday, was kind of a strange day. I broke my average by a little bit, but I kept looking out the window and seeing empty parking spots. Same as Thursday.
I can't tell you how strange that seems.
I'm also going to meet my mid-case average for the month, but most of that is attributable to a very strong first ten days. The last ten days, have been fairly weak. So the trend isn't what I'd like to see.
Of course, it could also be like trying to guess Christmas business on the 15th of December, (which I can't help doing every year despite knowing better), but which really doesn't mean much.
So, I'm going to expect July and August to be better, but not as good as I originally expected.
Thing about Bend, especially downtown Bend, is that we really need the tourist business in summer and Christmas. I'm not sure a lot of stores pencil out without that business. The tourists we are getting don't seem to want to spend much money. I guess they have to have a place to stay and they have to eat, so they must be spending that money...
As I've been saying, the new books and games are covering what would have been a shortfall, and I'm thankful every day that I added them to the mix. I'm going to turn a profit, in any case, but I'd rather turn a bigger profit than a smaller profit, for some reason.
"Really?" I said. "I thought I was the only one who felt that way."
"No," she answered. "I think most retailers feel that way."
**********
Duncan's Bubble Laws. (If you'll indulge me.)
1.) Bubbles go higher and last longer than you think they will.
2.) They end quicker than you think they will. (I know that seems like a contradiction, but both feel true.)
3.) They end from an unforeseen and unpredictable event.
4.) They drop further (usually past where they started) and last longer than you think they will.
Obviously, we're dealing with the fourth of the laws.
And I keep reminding myself, Further and Longer.
Further and longer.
Yesterday, Friday, was kind of a strange day. I broke my average by a little bit, but I kept looking out the window and seeing empty parking spots. Same as Thursday.
I can't tell you how strange that seems.
I'm also going to meet my mid-case average for the month, but most of that is attributable to a very strong first ten days. The last ten days, have been fairly weak. So the trend isn't what I'd like to see.
Of course, it could also be like trying to guess Christmas business on the 15th of December, (which I can't help doing every year despite knowing better), but which really doesn't mean much.
So, I'm going to expect July and August to be better, but not as good as I originally expected.
Thing about Bend, especially downtown Bend, is that we really need the tourist business in summer and Christmas. I'm not sure a lot of stores pencil out without that business. The tourists we are getting don't seem to want to spend much money. I guess they have to have a place to stay and they have to eat, so they must be spending that money...
As I've been saying, the new books and games are covering what would have been a shortfall, and I'm thankful every day that I added them to the mix. I'm going to turn a profit, in any case, but I'd rather turn a bigger profit than a smaller profit, for some reason.