WAUKESHA — Wisconsin retailers are working to get back on their feet since they were forced to close their doors over the pandemic, causing many not to be able to generate a profit for about two months.
Owner Kara Rankin of Scout & Molly’s said since they were able to reopen, there was first a small rush of customers, but mostly, many people are still not going out to shop right away.
Rankin said they have been busy on weekends and slow during the week.
Scout & Molly’s is open to the public, allowing curbside pickup options and allowing private shopping appointments.
“This morning I had an in-store appointment before we opened so she didn’t have to deal with so many people in the store,” Rankin said.
Rankin said her business is still relatively new, as it opened about three years ago. She said they were just beginning to see an upswing in sales when they were forced to close.
“If we had stayed closed even longer I would have been debating the possibility of closing at this point ... I’m lucky the PPP [Paycheck Protection Program] did save a lot for me, but no, I wasn’t generating enough on curbside pickup or online business to keep the doors open (much longer),” Rankin said.
Rankin said her store is located in The Corners of Brookfield, so people typically try to make a day of shopping at the mall; however, they haven’t been since many businesses are still closed or offering only curbside options.
“As far as the future goes, I don’t know,” Rankin said. “It’s an ever-changing environment. Right now I’m just hopeful that we can stay open ... what happens in the fall when they suddenly see a spike and we have to shut down again?”
Decor Adore Boutique owner Sarah Fitch said since she reopened her Hartland store, she has done renovations and redesigned her website.
Fitch said in order to survive she started to make gift baskets for Mother’s Day.
“That was probably the most successful thing, the shopping local aspect, the community just wanted to support us,” she said.
Fitch said since reopening she has been scrambling to get the store together. Fitch said she also lost profit being closed.
“The first quarter is always slow in Hartland, and my second quarter is when it picks up, Mother’s Day and Easter, and all of that, I lost all that,” she said.
“So there’s no way to get that back, it’s gone. I’m going to survive, but I’m surviving by putting more money into it.”
Fitch said she’s learned that technology is more important now and has learned to incorporate it into her business.
“I think that there might be a surge in shopping local and buying American and I think I’ll kind of change my store too, it’ll change what I’m selecting to sell,” Fitch said. “I almost feel more secure now because I think a lot of people put a lot of value in small businesses.”
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May 24, 2020 at 09:00PM
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Retailers lose profit from closures, look to future - Greater Milwaukee Today
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