Tomorrow's Another Day

Northwest Arkansas' small family stores adapt sales

Oliver Crumpton arranges macarons in the display case Tuesday in his store, Alchemy Macarons on Center Street in downtown Fayetteville. The small business is continuing to stay open to keep workers employed. Go to nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
Oliver Crumpton arranges macarons in the display case Tuesday in his store, Alchemy Macarons on Center Street in downtown Fayetteville. The small business is continuing to stay open to keep workers employed. Go to nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)

SPRINGDALE -- Small, local retailers in Northwest Arkansas -- many of them family businesses -- changed the way they do business in the face of the covid-19 scare.

Some simply closed, but many started curbside, pickup service like area restaurants and increased their online ordering and social media. Employees have become personal shoppers at some.

Their efforts aren't all about the money, several small retailers said. They're often faced with stacks of bills, among them rent, workers' pay and taxes, cost of supplies or items to sell and repayment of business loans. They're focused on keeping their workers employed and offering some semblance of normalcy for their customers.

[CORONAVIRUS: Click here for our complete coverage » nwaonline.com/coronavirus]

Small business owners hope the economic rescue bill passed Congress Friday helps them. They take one day at a time and frequently reevaluate their positions, they said.

SIGN OF THE TIMES

Delivery boxes sat stacked on the sidewalk Wednesday in front of the Dilly Dally's Toy Store in Rogers. A sign taped to the door read "CLOSED," but owner Susan Foster waved through the glass door, ready to help a customer.

Foster said she closed the store last week in an effort to stop the spread of covid-19. Her store was full as parents searched for distractions for their children, who were sent home when Gov. Asa Hutchinson ordered schools to close.

"We had kids and parents and grandparents in here," she said. "I decided we were part of the problem rather than the solution."

Now only Foster and her employees are allowed in the store, and they remain "socially distant" while there, she said. She meets her employees each day at the door with a thermometer.

Foster asked delivery drivers to stack the boxes, which she'll unpack outside and wipe with disinfectant before bringing them in the store.

Foster's 20-year-old business doesn't have an online presence, she said. She hired someone to get that done, but she hasn't heard from him, Foster said.

Her staff has transitioned to become personal shoppers, she said. Employees carry their cell phones through the store taking pictures to send to potential customers. Or a customer might call to request an Easter gift for a 4-year-old boy within a budget of $50, leaving it up to the staff to decide.

"We take phone orders. We use Facebook and Instagram. You can knock on the door, and we will talk to you through the glass," Foster said.

An employee wearing blue rubber gloves carried a brown paper shopping bag to a woman who had pulled up in the parking lot Wednesday.

"They order it on the phone. They pay for it over the phone. We hand it to them. We never touch," Foster said.

Nick Gann at Hook, Line and Sinker in Bella Vista filled up a bag full of minnows for a customer Monday.

Business had been steady all day, he said. There were groups of five to eight people in the store at times during the day, but never above the federal Centers for Disease Control recommendation of 10 people, he said. There also were numerous phone calls asking if the business was open, he said.

Gann said he expects local fishing to stay steady as people stay home and don't travel.

Logo-n-Stitch in Springdale, a women's boutique for clothing and gifts, remains open. But the store has worked to improve its electronic business. Many of the store's popular items can now be purchased through its website, and online orders have increased, said Taylor Easley, a store employee.

The store also provides personal shopping. Easley carried an iPad throughout the store Tuesday, talking to a customer via Facetime. Easley showed the customer items until the woman found the gift she wanted. Logo staff wrapped the purchase and delivered it curbside.

Easley next took pictures of mugs, spring wreaths, blouses and more to share on Facebook and Instagram to grab customers' attention.

FOR THE COMMUNITY

Adrienne and Oliver Crumpton decided to keep their Alchemy Macarons stores in Fayetteville and Rogers open to provide jobs for their employees.

"We're not staying open to make money," Oliver Crumpton insisted.

"It's more like, 'Hey, if you want to work, and if you need the money. We'll be happy if we break even or even make a buck or two," he said. "We want to do it for the community."

"We'll feel lucky if we make enough to cover the rent at one of our locations," said Adrienne Crumpton. "If we don't make $150, we don't cover the cost of our employees that day. But we're prepared to eat some money."

When word of covid-19 first emerged, customers dropped by about half, Adrienne Crumpton said.

Oliver Crumpton was making macarons Thursday afternoon in the Fayetteville store. They used to make 2,000 a day; now about 180. "And that's overkill, really," he said.

More customers are asking for curbside service, and the staff gets requests for delivery, Adrienne Crumpton said. The store typically doesn't deliver, but the Crumptons are considering it.

In addition to the stores, Alchemy Macarons sells wholesale to several Northwest Arkansas coffee shops. That business has dropped off too, Adrienne Crumpton said.

The Crumptons employ about 15 people, all part time, many of them students living at home who don't rely on their wages to live, so some of the business-owner stress is relieved, Adrienne Crumpton said. They furloughed three kitchen employees and cut hours of other employees.

The owners of Logo-n-Stitch want to keep business as normal as possible for the customers, especially with interaction limited, said Ashley Bryant, who owns and operates the store with her mother, Linda Davis. The store typically would have 30 to 50 customers a day, and now it sees about half of that.

Bryant said the eight to 10 employees were their main concern.

"They live off going to work every day," she said.

Foster said she feels like she and the Dilly Dally's staff are giving service to the community.

"Now is our time to shine," she said. "So many parents are with their kids all day, and some of them may be working from home and need something for their kids to do. We feel like that's what we can do for our customers."

Bonnie Clark checks the shelf Wednesday while working at her business, Cuttin'up Quilt Studio in downtown Prairie Grove. Go to nwaonline.com/200325Daily/ for more images. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. Wampler)
Bonnie Clark checks the shelf Wednesday while working at her business, Cuttin'up Quilt Studio in downtown Prairie Grove. Go to nwaonline.com/200325Daily/ for more images. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. Wampler)

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

All Arkansas businesses will struggle in 2020, according to a report released Tuesday by Michael Pakko, an economist at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. They will see reductions in consumer spending and job losses. The number of people employed in retail jobs will drop by 16%, according to the forecast.

Jeff Cooperstein, a research assistant for the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, listed two factors that might help keep small retailers in business.

"No. 1 is staying open -- even if it's just for curbside pickup or delivery," he said. "The other No. 1 thing is courting safety."

Cooperstein said he and other analysts are waiting to see what the government does at various levels to support small businesses.

He felt low-interest loans at the federal level would help a business hold on to its payroll. Rather than being just another cost for strapped businesses, the loans could help pay bills and extend the life of the store, he said.

"Small business needs a time to bridge the crisis," Cooperstein said.

The bill passed by Congress Friday would provide a one-time direct payment of up to $1,200 per adult, plus $500 per child for most households. There also are incentives for employers to keep workers on the payroll, including tax breaks.

Oliver Crumpton said he would like to see some government help to keep his employees paid. He also suggested some relief from payroll taxes, which the business pays in addition to an employee's wage.

"I hope they can stop the bleeding," he continued. "I hope they can minimize the damage and keep as many people employed as possible."

Retailers could get caught up in their current business struggles, but they also need to be planning how they're going to pay their employees next year, Cooperstein said.

LOOKING INTO CRYSTAL BALL

Foster feels her store will be able to withstand the storm. She has been very lucky, she said. Her landlord and small companies from which she buys have waived fees and offered extended time to pay.

Those boxes outside her store are Foster's preparation for the future. She ordered toys, games, puzzles and more, thinking some of the warehouses, small manufacturers and even shipping companies would be closed indefinitely.

Her store will be stocked for the Christmas shopping season.

Bryant said she and her mother reevaluate their boutique business every day. They are unsure if they will open tomorrow. They don't know if the governor will ask businesses to close, she said.

"We're currently revamping our website for what's coming next," she said.

If the store does close, they would probably keep one employee to facilitate shipping those online orders, or she and her mother could do it, Bryant said.

Bryant hopes for the store also are sentimental.

"It's something me and my mom do together," she said.

Adrienne Crumpton said the macaron shop is in a good position and will reevaluate its future in eight to 12 weeks.

"We're a very fortunate business. We've been a very successful business," Oliver Crumpton said.

NW News on 03/28/2020

Upcoming Events