By Alex Cummings and Sarah Stiefvater
National reports show an uptick in retail sales and increased consumer confidence over the past few months. But some local retailers say that their businesses aren’t influenced by such external factors. Instead, they rely on Lexington’s tourism industry and colleges to insulate them from economic ups and downs.
Susan Crawford has owned Pappagallo, a women’s boutique in downtown Lexington, for 35 years. She says she rarely sees her business mirroring national economic patterns and consumer behavior.
“Lexington never really follows a national trend,” Crawford said. “A few years ago, when things were bad nationally, I didn’t feel anything here. So I guess it’s because we have a captive audience. You’re in the middle of a small town and you have students. You have parents that are going to come. You have events that bring people here.”
George Huger, a Lexington native and owner of the Southern Inn restaurant since 1998, feels that his business reflects the upward trend in consumer confidence despite the town’s rural location and college community.
“People do seem to be spending money more freely,” Huger said. “Everyone thinks that the town dies when the schools go away, but that’s not necessarily the case. There’s a lot of tourist business. There are a lot of people that come through, traveling.”
Beth Homicz, director of marketing for Lexington & Rockbridge Area Tourism, describes most travel destinations as having shoulder seasons, or quiet periods in between busy seasons. But with three colleges in the area — Washington and Lee University, Virginia Military Institute and Southern Virginia University — Homicz says Lexington businesses enjoy a unique flow of tourists.
“Due in part to our three local colleges and their wide variety of events, we’re fortunate to welcome visitors more steadily across the year than many locales,” she said.
“Fortunately we haven’t seen over the last four or five years the real ups and downs that some other restaurants have seen,” Huger said. “And we definitely [haven’t] from the fact that Lexington is such an isolated market.”
According to Jean Clark, director of tourism for Lexington and Rockbridge Area Tourism, the tourism industry in Lexington, Buena Vista, and Rockbridge County is a major economic driver in the region – $57 million in direct visitor spending in 2011 alone. That translates into more than $150,000 a day in spending, she said, or about 7 percent of the local economy.
Nearly four years ago, Huger decided to capitalize on the area’s tourist population.
“We put up billboards on [Interstate] 81 in both directions and saw significant increases in business with travelers,” he said.
Longevity helps too. Crawford says she is at an advantage in that her shop has been open for 35 years.
“I’ve been here so long, I don’t have to advertise,” Crawford said. “I don’t have to do all the things that new stores have to do. I mean, they have to get their name out there.”
Crawford says this enables her to focus on catering to college students and her long-time customers.
“I probably wouldn’t have the store if W&L wasn’t here,” she said. “It does make up a lot of my business, especially the big weekends.”
While neither Crawford nor Huger think that 2008-09 economic downturn deeply affected their businesses, they recognize the handicap that Lexington’s small size and population have on their operations.
“It’s Lexington,” Huger said. “There aren’t a lot of places to go. We’ve had our ups and downs, but we try to put out a consistent product day in and day out.”
Crawford says she is realistic about the limitations that come with owning a store in Lexington.
“There’s 7,000 people in this town, so you’re going to have good times and bad times,” she said. “But am I ever going to make millions? No. And I’m probably one of the more successful stores just because I’ve been here so long. ”