Florist doing remarkably well
Andrea Klassen Medicine Hat News
Floral arrangements and boutique clothing might seem like the first things to be trimmed out of a recession-era budget. But Medicine Hat’s small business owners say they’re keeping their doors open with some creative advertising and an emphasis on unique products.
“We're doing fine - I won't say 'great', but we're doing fine," says Barry Charlton, owner of Fresh Flowers and Gifts on Third Street NE.
To keep customers coming, Charlton says he increased his advertising budget in 2009. He has also done more donation work, providing floral arrangements to charities like Big Brothers/Big Sisters and community groups like the Kinettes.
"It gets our name out in the public, and they get to see what we do, and they can see we're not your everyday florist - we don't do carnations and daisies, for example," he explains.
At Rapscallion Clothing & Design, a downtown clothing and screen printing store, owners have used social networking sites like Facebook and online mailing lists to spread word about their products and upcoming sales.
"Word of mouth, it's always been our biggest source of advertising,” says co-owner Jeff Barrett. “And regardless of anything, people are still on the Internet."
David Stroh, president of Medicine Hat’s Chamber of Commerce, says the city’s small business community is weathering the economic downturn well overall, especially compared to other cities.
"The business community does do well, people do spend locally and support businesses locally, and a big part of that is because there's a lot of good people in our community," he says.
In Stroh’s opinion, providing quality service is the number one thing a company can do to keep its doors open.
“When times aren't so good, a lot of the businesses that end up closing and shutting their doors are the business that were not servicing their customers properly," he explains.
For Barrett, that means offering unique products that are still affordable to the average Hatter. Rapscallion designs and produces much of its clothing in-house, and Barrett says this allows him to keep prices competitive.
NEWS PHOTO EMMA BENNETT
Jeff Barrett is co-owner of Rapscallion Clothing & Design, which is located downtown on Third Street S.E. The store specializes in custom designed silk screen printed clothing.
“We can sell a t-shirt that we've manufactured ourselves for $15,” he says, “or they can go to Wal- Mart and buy a t-shirt for $15.”
Charlton also credits much of Fresh’s success to the store’s ability to supply customers with hard-to-find flowers including ginger, hydrangeas and orchids.
At home with you!
24 — REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA 2010 ■ Celebrating our Community
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