The past few years the state of our nation’s and the world’s economy has been a serious issue. Not all, but many businesses have been struggling through this recession. Annandale businesses are no exception. If you walk down Main Street (Oak Ave), you can count nine empty store fronts.
The Advocate sent out a survey to Annandale businesses in hopes of getting a feel for how the depressed economy has impacted the area. With one or two exceptions, business in 2011 was either flat or down from sales in 2010. Every business agreed that January, February, and March are the worst months of the year. It was also stated unanimously that the summer months, and the people that swarm to the area, are very important to business. For the most part our business owners are optimistic about the future.
The following are comments made by nine business owners in Annandale. The statements represent their perspective on how things went in 2011 and their thoughts on the prospects for 2012:
Kaz Hardware, Ed Kaz
Kaz Hardware has been a staple on main street since the early seventies. Asked what kind of year the only hardware store in town had, Kaz said.
"Generally business for 2011 was pretty good. We did have an increase, although not a huge one. People need what we sell here – someone breaks a pipe, they have to fix it," Kaz added. He agreed with every other business that winter is always bad.
Kaz thinks that 2012 will be pretty much the same as 2011. "I don’t foresee our federal government balancing the budget in my lifetime. I just don’t understand why they can’t spend within their means," said Kaz. I do not blame President Obama; he did inherit a mess from the last administration, but you have to admit the president and Congress have not been able to do much to improve it."
Locally, Kaz emphasizes that is very important for Annandale to maintain our Main Street. "We have way too many empty buildings … I wish the city would get after landlords that do not keep the buildings up. It is no secret, that poor conditions landlords refused to fix, is why some of the businesses have left main street."
For the future, Kaz believes that the building of a new elementary school will attract more families to Annandale. "Good schools draw good people," said Kaz. "Our rental business will also benefit as they are building the school. Many of the tools we rent out are ones that the construction company may not keep in their tool bins." Other hardware items they will also need, things they run out of and don’t want to run to St. Cloud or the Twin Cities for." added Kaz.
Annandale Video & Tanning, Julie Grundy
Annandale Video and Tanning has been in business for 16 years. Owner, Julie Grundy admits that business has been down the last few years. Technology has changed over the years. TiVo, Internet Streaming, Blue Ray. But they have done a good job of making adjustments and meeting the needs of their customers.
"One thing customers should know is that movies from Warner, Universal and Fox come to a store like Annandale Video faster than it does to Redbox or Net Flix. Redbox gets the Warner Brothers new releases 56 days after Annandale Video and Tanning," Grundy said.
Competition like Redbox and Net Flix has had an impact on sales, "but Net Flix has lost quite a few customers in the last six months," said Grundy "and our store benefited from that."
Tanning has remained steady. People use it that are going south for the winter. In the spring, "People like to get rid of the white legs before they take out the swim suits," said Grundy. Annandale teens are a big user of tanning. "Events like the prom always send the kids to the tanning store."
Grundy does not foresee the U.S. economy really improving in the next few years, and she added, "We might continue to see some tough times ahead."
"We support the community. Red Box and Net Flix do not. People should keep that in mind," Grundy stated.
Tom & Gary’s Bowling Center, Gary Houfer
Co-owner Gary Houfer was pleased to say that business was up in 2011, "especially in food sales." Houfer said he has experienced similar economies, "This one just seems to be lasting longer. My advise, keep spending and hope others will do the same."
"We lost many bowlers to out-of-state work, but on the positive side, our bowlers have brought new faces to fill vacancies."
If they had to do 2011 over again, "We would move faster to keep people informed of changes we were making. Cell phones, texting, Facebook, all the things our children take in stride."
Houfer is optimistic about the future. "We have big advantages over other communities, with our lakes, a diverse business community and very friendly and interesting people."
Houfer is not planning on sitting back and waiting out the recession. "Tom and Gary’s plan on investing in new machinery, adding to the food menu and looking to add unique ideas for the summer season."
To fellow business owners: "Start getting along with your competition. We all win if we don’t lose any more businesses," stated Houfer. "Take less and give more to your employees, if they have money they can spend it around.
"If our community will shop in Annandale, I believe we can weather the down time and build on the future."
Miller’s Jewelry, Jim Miller
Jim Miller reported that his business Miller Jewelry was up in 2011. "It actually continues a trend that began in the 4th quarter of 2009," stated Miller. "The store has gone through similar downturns, and survived," he said.
"Gas prices staying within a relatively acceptable level during the summer travel months brought more people to the area during an important season for any Annandale business." Miller also added, "Volatile precious metal prices kept us on our toes and tends to bring us activity of buyers and sellers."
"We were conservative in the first half of the year with regards to our inventory levels and buying until we had a better feel for demand. We also chose to reinvest in our building, in hopes of enhancing the experience of shopping with us," said Miller
For 2012 Miller’s Jewelry sees continued steady growth. "I wouldn’t say we are rebranding our business, but we started to change the look and feel a bit in 2011. We want to continue that in 2012. We will continue to pursue new ways to market our business as well as feature more unique products and services that cannot be found elsewhere."
What outside factors could improve Annandale’s economic condition in 2012? "Stability in the financial and housing markets would be a good start. Annandale’s recruitment or encouragement of new businesses would also be a boost. We will all benefit by adding a more diverse offering of businesses, products and services here in Annandale. Doing this will continue to attract visitors, consumers and quality workers."
Miller added, "I am very proud to be a part of this community. It is a pleasure to hear visitors say how impressed they are with our town. We owe a great deal to the individuals and community organizations who have given so much of themselves to make this a great place to live and work."
All Things Good, Jim King
Owner Jim King reported that for 2011, All Things Good had an increase of 22 percent over 2010.
"I am very surprised and pleased with 2011; it was well beyond expectations," King said.
Many city people and from outside the area are now coming up for the day. "One group of shoppers told me, their day of shopping was between Annandale and Stillwater. They chose Annandale."
The majority of the All Things Good customers come from outside Annandale. He sees many customers from St. Cloud, Buffalo, and the Twin Cities. "As time goes on, we would like to see more local people visiting our store."
King strongly emphasizes that "The focus for the businesses in Annandale must be on the summer and the people attracted to our lakes. I estimate that the population in Annandale comes close to tripling from May to October. We should admit who we are, a lake community, and every decision a business makes should keep that in mind."
State Farm Insurance, David Burd
David Burd, owner of the State Farm Insurance agency in Annandale, indicated that 2010 and 2011 were exactly the same. However, because of the economy they are seeing less new homes being insured and less new cars purchased, thus less insurance bought.
"In hard times, people are short of money and often they will let the insurance bill go unpaid, when other priorities like food and rent need to be met."
One thing State Farm Insurance has going for it, is it’s financial strength. "More and more this is something customers are looking at today, with all the insurance companies that have failed in the past few years," stated Burd.
In hard times, and people are short of money, "Often they will let the insurance bill go unpaid, when other priorities like food and utilities need to be met."
Annandale Embroidery, Patty Knight
The summer of 2011 was unusually slow for Patty Knight’s business, Annandale Embroidery, located on Oak Avenue in what used to be the Hallmark store (and many years ago, the theater). Knight reported, however, that Christmas was very, very good. "More and more people are becoming aware that I carry a huge selection of Annandale Cardinal and area lake-themed clothing," Knight said.
The Cardinal football team’s trip to the Metrodome gave a big boost to Knight’s business. The hundreds of Annandale residents who made the trip to the Dome bought a lot of red T-shirts and sweatshirts.
In the summer, Knight depends on the lake people for the majority of her sales. With the no wake zones and many summer weekends rained out in 2011, there just were not as many people from out of town visiting the lakes.
Classic Rides & Rods, Matt Gallagher
Matt Gallagher is the manager of Classic Rides & Rods. Located on Highway 55, they sell classic cars and trucks. Gallagher is very optimistic for 2012.
"2011 was an excellent year for selling the classic cars and trucks," said Gallagher. Most of their sales are done over the Internet, but the cars are displayed in their indoor showroom. Their customers come from all income levels. "The majority are older guys sentimental about the car they had in high school or when they got out of the service," said Gallagher. "The economy really has not stopped these guys from getting the car they dream about."
Classic Hall Event Center, Annie Stein
The Classic Hall Event Center is located in the same building as Classic Rides & Rods, however, they are separate businesses. Manager Annie Stein reports that 2011 was a very good year. "We saw many back-to-back Friday-Saturday weddings in 2011. Friday night weddings are becoming more and more popular," according to Stein.
So far bookings for 2012 are down, but they are optimistic. "I feel confident that we will book as much, if not a little more business in 2012," stated Stein.
"People still don’t know that we are here," said Stein, "many drive by every day but don’t know what goes on here." Stein reported that the Classic Hall has been hosting the monthly meetings of the Annandale Improvement Club this year, "and we are hoping that exposure will spread the word about our facility," said Stein.
Stein indicated that "We have another problem – our first contact with people is usually over the phone requesting a quote." Stein fears that if the quote is somewhat higher that an alternative facility, "We get crossed off the list." If possible, we always try to get them into the facility to see all we have to offer, 90 percent of those that see the Classic Hall are sold on it," she said.
Arenson’s Annandale Pharmacy, Mark Arenson
Since the early ’70s the Arenson family has owned the Annandale Pharmacy.
Owner Mark Arenson reports a "relatively flat year in 2011, we had some good days but definitely fewer customers." Arenson attributes a loss in customer base partly to the purchasing of the local telephone company by Windstream.
Arenson estimates that at least "90 jobs were lost and with family members taken into consideration, over 200 people have left the area because of that purchase." Arenson added, "You just can’t lose that many jobs and people in a small town like Annandale and have it not affect the local economy."
Arenson points to vacant businesses as a problem. "With each store that closes and the space remaining vacant, that is one more reason not to shop downtown,"
Is competition a bad thing? "No," says Arenson "Competition is a good thing. We used to have two drug stores, two hardware stores, two grocery stores. People like to have a choice and they know if one doesn’t have what you want, the other probably will. Knowing they have choices bring people in."
The government and the press saying the economy is improving is "just smoke" said Arenson, "The reality is what we see: friends out of a job and empty storefronts!"
While things are bad, he is optimistic that "Good times will come around – it’s just going to take longer this time."
Arenson says the rainy days in the summer months are good for the drug store business. "Many cabins are small, and being cooped up with 6 to 8 people in a small cabin all day, motivates them to venture out and come downtown." Arenson points to the Swappers Meet and the downtown Farmer’s Market compliment the area businesses.
Things have been tough but "Working harder with less" has been the rule the last few years.
Arenson says they do their best to "Maintain high standards and provide the best service possible."
Arenson added that "People expect a small town to have an old-fashion, full-service drugstore, and we try our best to provide that."