Amanda Johnson Havre Daily News ajohnson@havredailynews.com
With the nation’s economy going down the drain it would seem only natural the economy in Havre would follow. But, according to most business owners and managers in town, the local economy is holding its own. Others said they are beginning to feel the effects of recession and see shoppers refraining from the extravagance of past years, buying only the necessities. The Havre Daily News interviewed a cross section of the retail community this week to learn how local businesses were fairing at the start of this holiday season one that many hoped would make up for lost sales incurred over the last two tourist seasons of highway construction. Following is the information shared. Big R “The day after Thanksgiving sales were up, it’s been a little slower since then,” said Joe Teini, store manager of Big R. “A lot of that is due to the Canadian dollar changing, last year it was up, this year it is down. All in all business has been good. We have a week fewer this year in between Christmas and Thanksgiving which kind of hurts, because there was an extra week that people were in the thought of Christmas.” Teini said general goods and necessities such as jeans are the items people are buying the most. "The jean bins were pretty empty the day after Thanksgiving. I don’t think they’re really buying any of the frugal things, I think they’re mostly buying necessity gifts, what people need," he said. Herbergers "We’re about where we were predicting for sales this year," said Gary Peterson, Herbergers store manager. "We are very pleased with the crowds. We are in full receipt of our holiday inventory and we have a wide variety of gift items sure to please anyone on your list. “Thinking back to last Friday, which is our biggest day (of the year) we had a lot of gift items going on then. We had a lot of the what we call tech gifts like the MP3 players, digital photo frames, jumbo remotes, all the little tech kind of items, electronics. We sold a lot of those and those are really wanted gifts. "Other big popular items are the things that keep you warm like down throws and blankets," he said. "This year we practically sold out of the micro plush blankets you can put over you. That stuff is popular, the warm and cozy throws." Wal-Mart “Our sales are really good, higher than last year, higher than we anticipated," Roberto Munguia, store manager of Wal-Mart said. "Wal-Mart has done very well. When the recession hit, people go where they know they can get more bang for their buck. “Black Friday, we sold all of our big flat panel TV’s except one, which is shocking because of the economy the way it was we weren’t sure how that would sell. We had a full pallet of the Wii’s and they sold within about a minute. We also had the Guitar Hero special bundle packs that sold really well. The electronics are selling well. In the whole state of Montana we had a great Black Friday. December has started out well.” Kmart “Sales are comparable to last year, I think people are shopping locally instead of going to Great Falls,” said Robert Davis, store manager of Kmart. “I’m pleased with the way sales are considering how the economy is doing. Toys are really hot right now; our Wii’s, our X-Box 360s, Guitar Heroes and electronics are really popular this year with the kids. I think people are shopping really wisely this year,” Said Davis. Norman's Ranch & Sportswear “Sales are going very good, maybe not quite as good as last year, but right with it,” said Scott Young, owner of Norman's Ranch & Sportswear. “Sales are better than expected. People are mostly buying basic jeans and smart wool socks, mostly basic stuff,” said Young. Ben Franklin Crafts “Sales are doing alright, we’re holding our own,” said Cecil Durbin owner/ manager of Ben Franklin Crafts. “People are buying Christmas decorations. Our fleece and our fabric department, they are doing well. Gifts and Christmas fleece, that’s the best thing right now. Business has picked up since the construction on First Street has been done, there was an improvement.” Dollar $uper Center “Sales have been very brisk for the holidays, very good,” said Greg Drummer, owner of Dollar $uper Center. "We have been open since Memorial weekend; this is our first holiday season. Sales are slightly better than expected. We sell a lot of gift wrap, gift bags, ribbon and just Christmas decorations in general this time of year and of course the everyday items that people are nice enough to come buy.” Just A Dollar "Sales are down, not as good as last year," said Ileta Gerber owner of Just A Dollar. "Sales are not better than expected. Our popular items right now are the necessary items, specific items that they come in for. Serv-Ur-Self Furniture “Our November sales are up from last year,” said Gary Richardson, store manager of Serv-Ur-Self Furniture. “Popular items being purchased are beds, they are always good, but mostly reclining furniture.” Valley Furniture “Our sales are good; they are up from last year,” said Mike Evans Owner of Valley Furniture. “Recliners, TV stands and lots of accessories, floor lamps, table lamps. Our Black Friday sale was good as well as Saturday. Usually we’ll get Friday business after Thanksgiving that is usually OK and Saturday is the big day, but this year we found Friday to be better than normal, definitely better than expected. Friday sales were good and it continued on through Saturday, so it was a good two days for us," he sdded. Auto dealerships With the recent national news focused on the struggling auto manufacturers, responses from local auto dealerships in Havre were pleasantly surprising. Havre Ford “We’re about the same as last year,” said Steve Steinmentz general sales manager of Havre Ford. "I’d say we’re fair all right, with everything that’s going on with the economy today. Everybody’s looking at the vehicles that get the fuel mileage, anything and everything that they can get on it. We’ve been selling more trucks than we have in the past couple of months; so they’re coming back, especially the half tons.” Havre Ford General Manager Charlie Steinmentz added, "We'd like for sales to be a little more so. We're selling a mixture of used and new trucks, especially the new vehicles that are backed by good factory incentives. We have a lot of interest in gas saving vehicles. Sales could always be better we'd always like for it to be better and we're always striving for more." G&B Toyota "Sales are fairly good, better than expected. We’re keeping an optimistic view right now,” said Ryan Sorensen, general manager of G&B Toyota. "Trucks are ironically a hot seller right now trucks and SUVs.” Tilleman Motor Co. "Sales are going good. I don’t compare this year to last year, the past is the past,” said Craig Tilleman general manager of Tilleman Motor Company. “I don’t know if I have one thing in particular that everybody is buying. Sometimes in the year you can say everybody is buying diesel pick-ups. "What are selling real well are the crossover sport utility vehicles," he added. "People are really excited about them. December is usually a really good month because people are buying vehicles for tax write-offs and so on and we’re just hitting that season. Accountants are now telling their clients to buy vehicles so they won’t pay as much taxes.” North Star Dodge “New car sales are up as a total number,” said Rocky Preeshl general sales manager of North Star Dodge. “October was an excellent month. November was just below average and we’re just getting into December. The amount of sales-ups (walk-in customer) are probably down by 30 percent at our dealership. "It’s better than expected with our economy," he said. "Dodge trucks are our main seller; people are buying the trucks with the higher rebates, because we’ve never had these kinds of incentives on vehicles. I think business picked up right after the construction was done, but I think the economy has changed things. ATV sales are down, because the first thing to go in a poor economy is toys.” (See upcoming editions of the Havre Daily News focusing on oil and gas production in the region, the impact of the struggling global economy on local social services and more.)
