Low-key shopping

While hordes of shoppers gathered at area malls and specialty stores in the twilight hours of Black Friday, Mill Creek retailer KarIn Heusted was sound asleep in bed.

There were no mobs waiting outside her children’s boutique on Nov. 23 when the doors opened at 9 a.m. — no sales ploys to drag in customers the day after Thanksgiving.

“We don’t have a real Black Friday here,” said Heusted, co-owner of Lil Lads ‘N Lasses. “It’s just like any other day for us, though this year’s did seem up from last year.”

You expect chaos at the malls and other large retail outlets.

Heusted figures people shop at her store to escape the holiday mayhem.

“Every now and then I’ll hear from a customer, ‘You should have your sales at the same time the malls are having their sales,’” she said. “But we’re not at the mall. We offer a different, more intimate atmosphere, and that’s what most of our customers like about us.”

So, the management at Lads ‘N Lasses doesn’t ham it up for the holidays.

They offer hot chocolate and cookies — maybe some apple cider — to customers at Town Center’s annual holiday open house.

“We don’t really feature any big sales until the end of the year,” Heusted said. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense to compete with the larger retailers in that sense.”

Since Heusted and her partner, Diane Kennedy, opened the store in May of 2005, business has been pretty steady.

“If I recall, there was a dip around the holidays last year and then again around Easter,” Heusted said. “Things have gone really well other than that. Children will never stop needing clothes no matter what time of year it is.”

Heusted’s experience is typical of area retailers, says Bothell-based economist James McCusker.

Most retailers — not just in the Puget Sound but around the country — are reporting sales slightly higher than last year, despite predictions a few months ago that consumer spending would soften just in time for the holidays.

McCusker attributes this to several factors.

Locally, retail has remained strong because companies like Boeing are creating jobs and posting record profits. The housing market in Washington, among the strongest in the nation, also is a major contributor to strength of the local economy.

“These things have sheltered us,” he said.

That doesn’t mean the predicted effects of rising fuel costs and associated price hikes for goods and services will skip over the Puget Sound.

“People’s habits don’t change overnight,” McCusker said. “Eventually, consumers will begin to alter their spending habits. They’ll put fewer miles on their vehicles and look for alternative means of transportation.”

The good news is, not all businesses will be adversely affected by the predicted changes in spending.

Diane Reinsch, the owner Belle Provence — a boutique specializing in unique gifts and home décor — says the success of her store and other Town Center businesses will depend on local shoppers.

Mill Creek and Bothell residents who used to leave the area for shopping malls in Alderwood and Bellevue, will likely turn to the local market to save money at the gas pump.

“Our sales have improved as more and more people in the community have learned what’s available at Town Center,” Reinsch said.

She operated her store for 25 years at Bothell’s Country Village before relocating to Mill Creek a little more than two years ago.

“Business has to be going pretty well. I mean we’re still here,” she said laughing. “But, you can always do better. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for us that the local community supports our businesses here. The message is: shop here first. If you don’t find the gift you’re looking for at Town Center, you can always try the mall as a second option.”

Because Town Center is fairly new to the community, Reinsch said it’s difficult to gauge spending trends.

“I can’t say whether we’re having a better holiday season because of the economy or if it’s just that more people have learned that we’re here,” she said. “The bottom line is that we’re more concerned right now about getting people from the community to shop here than we are about the strength of our holiday sales over last year.”

The same is true for Heusted.

Like any merchant, she depends on fourth-quarter sales to clear expenses and begin the next year on solid footing. With a new business, however, she’s focused more on getting people through the door year round.

“Overall, business is looking really good,” she said. “It’s going to take a while to get a feel for the market as our customer base continues to grow.”