Small stores aim to serve

From hosting pajama parties to providing personal shoppers, Nebraska's small-town retailers are pulling out all the stops to attract their share of Christmas dollars.

Jan Malousek, owner of Our Corner Cottage Gifts in Wahoo, said the holiday shopping season “is what retailers live for” and usually makes the difference in whether a business is profitable.

“At our store, we kick off the season with a pajama party about a week before Thanksgiving,” Malousek said. “It adds a bit of fun that people have started looking forward to.”

The pajama party starts at 7 p.m. when customers arrive in their nightclothes. For the next three hours, they taste delicacies prepared from the shop's gourmet food pantry, play games and search for gift certificates.

Malousek also offers complimentary gift wrapping, shopping by appointment and free deliveries. She said business has been brisk.

“We have our ups and downs, but overall sales have been real solid,” she said.

Every holiday season, small retailers face the challenge of luring customers who might otherwise go to a chain discount store or shopping mall. This year, like all retailers, they're operating in an environment where shoppers are projected to spend less than they did last Christmas season.

Most independent store owners cannot compete in a price war with the big chains, said Jim Otto, president of the Nebraska Retail Federation. Like the Wahoo gift store, they “create a niche” to attract customers.

“Independent store owners have to figure out what they do better than (what) the big chains can't or won't do,” Otto said. “That usually comes down to service.”

An October survey by Gallup found that Americans plan to spend an average of $740 on Christmas gifts this year. That's down from the $801 of a year ago.

Kim and Russ Kathol of Main Street Jewelers/Diamond Floral in Plattsmouth said adding new wrinkles keeps their 13-year-old business fresh.

“We actually spread our wings by packing up and holding a three-day jewelry sale in Hartington, Neb.,” Kim Kathol said. “We took our store to people who do not have a jewelry store and it was a big success.”

The Kathols will also participate in Plattsmouth's Hometown Holidays celebration today and hold their own Christmas open house next Thursday. The store will also be open on the two Sundays prior to Christmas.

“This close to Omaha, it's easy for (Plattsmouth) residents to hit the highway, so we try to be unique in every aspect — from finding great items on our buying trips to opening the store after hours,” Kim Kathol said. “Last year, the very last week before Christmas made our (profit) numbers.”

In Nebraska City, Fort Western Outpost saw a 16 percent increase in Black Friday sales.

General Manager Steve Wohlfarth, son of the store's founders, said December is the store's busiest month and he expects another big day during Nebraska City's Tannenbaum Festival on Saturday.

“The Fort” and a sister store in Lincoln offer a variety of items, including Western wear, saddles and tack, home décor, collectibles, toys and work clothes.

Wohlfarth hangs his cowboy hat on bending to most any wish of the customer. It's not uncommon, he said, for a busy construction worker to call ahead and ask to have several pairs of work boots lined up on the front counter for a quick pick.

“Personal service is something that separates Fort Western from the big box stores like Walmart and Tractor Supply,” Wohlfarth said. “Our (staff members) are experts. The fellow who sells saddles for us has been riding horses for 30 years.”

Wohlfarth also is proud of the strides his two stores are making in Internet sales. The Web now brings small-town businesses right into big-city living rooms.

“We not only deliver across town, but all across the country and throughout the world,'' Wohlfarth said.

Mike Lindley of Lindley's Clothing in Wahoo works in a family business that opened in 1935.

“Small communities are always going to have to battle to keep customers from going to the next bigger community,” Lindley said. “So we do whatever it takes — stay open late, open the store at odd hours — to make customers happy.”

Contact the writer:

444-1272, kevin.cole@owh.com

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