NEWS
FROM MT WASHINGTON VALLEY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE – December 2,
2013
CONTACT:
Marti Mayne, 207-846-6331, PR@mtwashingtonvalley.org
THEY
CAME, THEY ATE, THEY SHOPPED OVER THANKSGIVING WEEKEND IN MT WASHINGTON VALLEY,
NH
North
Conway, NH (12-2-13) – Mt Washington Valley was mobbed with holiday revelers and
shoppers over Thanksgiving weekend, according to an informal survey distributed
by the Mt Washington Valley Chamber
of Commerce. According to retailers, lodging, restaurant and winter
attractions/ski resorts, business was brisk as shoppers hit the stores and
skiers hit the trails. “We lit the tree in Schouler Park and celebrated a busy
start to the holiday weekend in Mt Washington Valley,” commented Janice
Crawford, Executive Director of the Mt Washington Valley Chamber of
Commerce.
In a press release distributed by
Settlers’ Green on Black Friday, Laura Tuveson, Marketing Assistant for OVP
Management, Inc. shared that more than 35 stores were open by midnight on
Thanksgiving Night at Settlers’ Green Outlet Village, and many stores reported
it was a successful evening. Some stores even opened earlier than planned
because of eager Black Friday shoppers waiting at store doors including
Journeys, Tommy Hilfiger and Pacific Sunwear. White Mountain Cupcakery, which
planned to open from 9 pm to 12 am. on Thanksgiving Night, remained open two
hours longer than planned before opening again at 5 am because of strong demand
for coffee and baked goods.
Kay Jewelers reported great business
when it opened its doors at 10 pm on Thanksgiving Night “Many stores made the
corporate decision to open earlier than our required 5 am Black Friday opening
time this year, which appeared to be a national trend,” said Tuveson. “There are
six less shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year compared to
last year, and many stores are hoping to capitalize on Thanksgiving Weekend to
make up for that.” On Black Friday and the days that followed, parking spots at
Settlers’ Green were at a premium from open to close. “I saw lines out the door
at Wilson Leather in Settlers’ Green on Friday afternoon,” commented Marti
Mayne, PR Manager for Mt Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce. When asked, the
sales staff at Wilson Leather, Old Navy and Bass Shoes said that business had
been brisk and sales were strong for the Black Friday holiday, according to
Mayne.
In
North Conway Village, the Framed Art Superstore, which has always been tied to
the housing market, finished November up year over year for the first time in
several years, according to co-owner Michael Kline. “The art store has been sold
to the Handcrafters Barn, and will be moving Dec 15th. The moving
sale lowered revenue by about 20-percent, and the net sales still outpaced
2012,” observed Kline. The Funky Bubble, which sold as of Nov 30th,
enjoyed a record setting sales day Saturday, beating 2012 by about 20-percent,
said Kline. Additionally, Soyfire Candle just missed the 2012 sales numbers for
Thanksgiving weekend, but the bar was very high, with 2012 being a particularly
good year, as the stores first year in N. Conway Village. According to co-owner
Michael Kline, who floated between stores over the weekend, “Customers were
relaxed and enjoying a festive, not frantic village experience, in spite of the
heavy traffic” and many mentioned and demonstrated their enthusiasm for the
shop-small movement.
Matt
Fusco, Owner of The Rugged Mill in North Conway shared that sales were up over
last year for every day of the Thanksgiving weekend. “Compared to last year’s
Thanksgiving, Friday was up 15-percent, Saturday was up by 14-percent and Sunday
was up by 40-percent over last year’s sales,” reported Fusco. “For the
specialty stores, like us, Small Business Saturday is a much busier day than
Black Friday,” said Fusco who observed there were 33-percent more in sales on
Saturday than Friday at the Rugged Mill. “More shoppers seemed to be supporting
the small businesses on Saturday, after shopping the "Big Box" and Outlet store
deals on Thursday & Friday,” observed Fusco.
And
if visitors were not shopping they were skiing. Cranmore Mountain Resort
reported a record breaking Thanksgiving weekend. According to Marketing
Manager, Becca Deschenes, “We had an absolutely amazing Thanksgiving weekend
here at Cranmore”. Not only did Cranmore have a busy weekend, the resort also
had record breaking open terrain for the weekend, with 17 trails on Sunday, and
three trails off of the summit. “Although we were open last year, skier visits,
we were up 251-percent compared to last year for the three days, and
year-to-date skier visits were up 100-percent. Tubing was close to double what
we did last year for the same weekend, and our Mountain Adventure Park was also
significantly up from last year,” reported Deschenes. Even Jackson Ski Touring
got in the fun, with limited skiing open. Jackson Ski Touring Foundation
Executive Director, Thom Perkins, shared “Season Pass Sales are up 13-percent
from last year through November and junior season passes are up 160-percent,”
said Perkins who credits a focus on marketing the junior program for the
increase in junior pass sales.
A
few lodging properties also weighed in on the chamber’s survey. Steve Lambert
reported a sold-out weekend at the Bernerhof Inn where shopping was the main
activity for guests there. Farm by the River Bed and Breakfast with Stables,
Charlene Browne also reported that bookings at the inn were up over last year
due to families enjoying Polar Express packages and couples taking advantage of
the romantic sleigh and carriage ride packages. In fact, Charlene shared that
there were a lot of carriage ride proposals and elopements this month, so love
was in the air!
Terry
Obrien from the Red Parka Steakhouse and Pub also reported that it was a good
weekend with Friday’s restaurant and bar sales up significantly over the
previous year and Saturday’s sales up too. Here, the main weekend activity
heard in conversations was skiing! Unlike the trend from respondents, Elvio
Decilla from Elvio’s Pizza reported that sales were down by 5-percent for the
weekend.
Tis the season for holiday fun,
festivals and ski getaways. For more information on vacations in Mt Washington
Valley, visit www.mtwashingtonvalley.org or call a
vacation concierge at 1-800-DO-SEE-NH (800-367-3364). For information on New
Hampshire getaways, visit www.visitNH.gov.
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