By Lauren Otis, Staff Writer
As an economic crisis with few precedents swirls around them, Princeton merchants are attempting to remain upbeat while adopting an attitude of extra vigilance in their own sales and marketing practices at the onset of the peak post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping season.
”Everybody’s nervous but everybody’s also optimistic, nobody’s ever lived through this before,” said Kathie Morolda, owner of Cranbury Station Gallery at 28 Palmer Square East and president of the Borough Merchants for Princeton, of an economic situation which is being compared to that which overtook the country during the Great Depression.
Although sales have been slower than in previous years “I’m just saying business as usual,” Ms. Morolda said. “I’m not worried for the holidays, I guess I’m just wondering what is going to happen in February,” she said.
”You do get a little more creative,” Ms. Morolda said. Customers at her store seem to be interested in object framing rather than art framing at present, wanting mementos they already own that are meaningful to them mounted and framed, she said. Such framing is more difficult but she is happy to provide it, she said.
In general, “we are really trying to cross-promote each other,” Ms. Morolda said of downtown merchants. Her gallery is working with Morris Maple & Son on 200 Nassau St., sending customers in search of art supplies to the painting and decorating store, which sends potential framing customers to her, Ms. Morolda said.
”Business is very difficult,” said Robert Landau, president of Landau woolens and clothing store at 102 Nassau St. “We’ve lost people buying on impulse,” Mr. Landau said. “However, people are still buying things and if you have the right item, the right item being something they don’t have and think they need, we are still selling,” he said.
Mr. Landau said his store recently took delivery on an order of alpaca wool hats from Bolivia. He had ordered black, brown and gray but received black, brown and green, and because they were from Bolivia couldn’t ship the green hats back.
”Do you know the end of the story? We sold out of the green, because nobody had a green hat,” he said.
Handmade dockworkers mittens from Bolivia, where the mitten tips fold back enabling wearers to use their fingers, have been a surprise hit among kids who want cold weather texting wear, Mr. Landau said. With many customers asking for American-made products, Landau has also begun marketing what it calls the American Artisan Collection, Mr. Landau said, featuring only clothing items made in the United States.
”We still have customers who are looking for good things,” he said
Adam Perle, interim president and CEO of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce located at 9 Vandeventer Ave., said PRCC members who are in the retail business “have concern but are being proactive about those concerns.”
Retailers are trying to manage their inventories, draw customers through advertising and discounts, and engage in creative partnerships with organizations like the PRCC, the borough merchants group, or with other businesses individually, Mr. Perle said. “A tendency for businesses in tough economic times is to withdraw,” he said, but aggressive advertising and promotion is critical at this point.
”I think we have a really intelligent, really superb workforce. The Princeton region will be able to stem the tide,” Mr. Perle said, adding that the region is positioned to come back strong when the business cycle improves.
Noting that “if you expect for things to be down they’ll be down,” Mr. Landau said “we are expecting to do as well as we did last year and maybe even better.” Landau is keeping a full inventory and is not marking down prices because its goal is not just to survive but to thrive, he said.
JaZams toy store, which recently moved to a larger space at 25 Palmer Square East and also has a store in the Pennington Shopping Center, is maintaining a full inventory, said owner Joanne Farrugia. “As they say, you can’t sell it if you don’t have it,” Ms. Farrugia said.
”We are getting a slow start which is because of the late Thanksgiving I think,” Ms. Farrugia said. “I’m feeling optimistic at this point, we’ll see,” she said.
Ms. Farrugia said she is hopeful that parents will seek to insulate their children from the current economic problems, and continue to indulge them with gifts, even if they are cutting back for themselves. “That’s what I’m doing for my son. I’m guessing that’s what most people are doing,” she said.
At the Princeton Shopping Center, “it’s definitely been a slower year,” said Scott Morris, store manager at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports. Mr. Morris said he is not planning on doing much different this year from last. He always has a sale at this time of year, he said.
With the shopping center no longer undergoing renovations, Mr. Morris said he hoped more shoppers would visit during the holidays. “I hope it helps, it should,” he said.
”I guess it’s going to come down to a wait and see,” Mr. Morris said.
Deb Hunter, owner of Chicklet Books at Princeton Shopping Center and Glen Echo Books at 14 Nassau St., said she is carrying more inventory than last year. “We are positive, we are very positive,” Ms. Hunter said. That said, “we’ve noticed people are being a little more selective than last year,” buying two books perhaps rather than three, she said.
With Glen Echo specializing in used books, and Chicklet also carrying many used and marked-down books, Ms. Hunter said she is seeing plenty of business from cost-conscious book buyers. “And don’t forget, books are a good form of escapism,” in poor economic times, she said.
Debbie Kirch, store manager of the J. McLaughlin clothing store at 17 Witherspoon St., said the company “decided to have their first ever mid-season clearance sale” at all J. McLaughlin branches nationally.
”All in all, J. McLaughlin here in Princeton, we have been very lucky, we haven’t really felt the economic crunch,” Ms. Kirch said. “Who knows what will happen in December,” she added.

