Sunday, April 1, 2012

Clothes stores have surplus of winter gear

 Spring is creeping upon us a little earlier than past years, making an impact on some small businesses along Grant Street. While many aren’t complaining about the lack of winter weather, some storeowners are noticing a bit more winter apparel in their stores than usual.
 One Stop Mart, located on 302 Grant St., already has some spring clothing items out for customers, but in the back you can still find winter coats and sweaters.
 “Since it wasn’t a bad winter we still have some stuff left, but if we still have anything at the end of the month we put it on clearance to try to get rid of it,” said Stahl Fidel, store manager. “And if it still doesn’t sell we give it away to charity.”
 New To You Shop, a second hand store also located on 289 Grant Street,- AP still has a variety of winter apparel available to customers.
  “We do have more winter clothes than summer, but we offer bag sales to people which helps sell clothing items at a cheaper cost for customers,” said Kim DeFlyer, a manager at New To You Shop.
 The weather has increased walking traffic in and out of stores on Grant Street, but we all know how unpredictable Buffalo weather can be. DeFlyer also said that most customers come by foot, so if the weather changes drastically, people tend come in for last minute gear, which helps the store to sell a lot of what may be leftover. By Ann Hendricks and Miranda Ruckdeschel