Snowstorm blows chances for a profitable Presidents Day weekend
Advertiser News Services
WASHINGTON — Presidents Day was to have been the three-day weekend that finally put retailers' disappointing holiday season behind, providing a fresh start to clear the last tired merchandise and unveil spring fashions.
Ouch. The worst snowstorm in at least seven years buried much of the East, and with it the hopes of a lot of retailers big and small.
Store closures for Wal-Mart, the largest retailer, spanned Virginia to New York and Rhode Island. Spokesman Tom Williams did not have a final count but said never had so many shut down at once. Best Buy had 33 of its big electronic stores shuttered.
In Washington, D.C., Hecht's was hoping to clear out the last of its unsold winter fashions last weekend with the 15 percent-off bonus coupons it offered on top of the 60 percent markdowns already in effect.
With 500 shiny new Hondas still on its lot in suburban Alexandria, Va., Landmark Honda was looking to meet or beat the 25 to 30 cars it normally sells on Presidents Day, one of the biggest sales days of the year.
And US Airways, in its midwinter blahs and operating under bankruptcy court protection, had seen a nice uptick in reservations from people traveling over the long holiday weekend.
But it wasn't to be. The storm turned a blowout into a whiteout for area businesses that had stocked up, discounted and heavily promoted their goods and services for the Presidents Day weekend.
Instead, area car dealers spent most of the day scraping snow off their inventory and plowing their lots while airline personnel frantically ran around getting passengers on later flights, or explaining the policies on refunds. Only about a third of consumers who might have responded to those special Presidents Day promotions received the newspapers in which they were printed. And those who did were probably more concerned with shoveling out their cars than driving them anywhere.
Indeed, on this Presidents Day, nearly all of the Washington area's stores and malls were closed, downtown shopping areas were deserted and what businesses were open got by mostly on light traffic and skeleton staffs. And with many roads, sidewalks and parking lots still unplowed, and even public transportation disrupted, hopes for a quick return to normal were quickly fading.
Of course, there are always those businesses that were able to capitalize on Mother Nature's midwinter dump. By yesterday afternoon, lines were out the door at the Potomac Video as homebound families cleaned the shelves of just about every new release that there was to be had.
"We live for these days," said Mike McDaniels, the assistant manager, who reported rentals well ahead of normal in every category except adult films.
Some residents were happy to venture out for a walk and a bit of sociability, finding it in the occasional cafe and restaurant that was able to open. Farooq Munir, owner of the Jolt N Bolt Coffee and Tea House, was by himself Sunday because none of his employees could get in. He spent the day serving brew, shoveling the snow, making egg sandwiches and answering the phone so often he began picking it up and saying simply, "We're open."
Exhausted, Munir finally closed at 6:30 Sunday night, hours ahead of schedule and reopened yesterday morning to more of the same.
Grocery stores that were able to open did brisk business throughout the weekend as nervous homeowners stocked up just in case. But with some staff unable to get in and some deliveries blocked, a number of stores were closed for all or part of the day yesterday while those that remained open had long lines and bare shelves.
While Presidents Day weekend isn't high season for most area hotels, it proved a particularly busy one for hotel workers who managed to make it into work and in many cases asked to stay the night so they could work double and even triple days of double shifts.
"Tired is the operative word around here," said Dean Wilhelm, general manager of the Holiday Inn on Capitol Hill.
With 400 guests and only 50 employees to serve them, Wilhelm and his staff engaged in plenty of improvisation over the weekend.
There was no room service yesterday and full cleaning was reserved only for rooms with guests who were checking out. For the rest it was just the basics: emptying trash cans, replacing soap and coffee. In the restaurant, sit-down meals gave way to buffets not just at breakfast, but lunch and dinner as well. And when 700 people showed up for dinner Sunday night rather than the usual 150, Wilhelm rolled up his sleeves and helped wash dishes himself.
"When you see your general manager pitching in and washing dishes, you just get in and help too," said Carol Sparkes, who worked her own shift at the front desk and then another helping to change sheets. "Everyone pitches in."
Despite these pockets of activity, the storm is hardly an economic boon to the local economy.
"You can ill afford to have a weekend go by where stores can't open," said Scott Krugman, a spokesman for the National Retail Federation. "It's a three-day weekend sale and you only have so many a year."
But the impacts may be largely short term, according to Stephen Fuller, a professor at George Mason University who follows the local economy. A study Fuller did of the impact of the last big snow storm, in January 1996, found that while figures for that month showed a definite decline in sales, employment and airline traffic, most of it was offset by an upward spike over the next two months. "It's very possible that by next weekend we could very well see crowded stores, particularly if they carry over their Presidents Day sales."
