No Snow, No Customers For Watertown BusinessSome people can't wait for snow, especially those who rely on winter weather to make a buck or two. For Todd Phelps, the owner of the Black River Adventurer's Shop in Watertown, no snow means no business. "It's dramatically affected business," Phelps said. "We're down probably over 60 percent." Phelps does most of his business in the winter selling and renting snowshoes and cross-country skis. After an average Christmas sales spike, the lack of snow has kept customers away from the store. "If you can't ski, there's no reason to come get skis," Phelps said. In fact, Phelps says he gets only a couple of customers in the store every day. And they're usually just looking for small items or bike repairs. With no winter in sight, Phelps is hoping for an early spring, when he can start selling bicycles. "Traditionally, cross-country ski sales will drop off late January, early February, anyway. So at this point, I've almost written off cross-country ski sales for the season," Phelps said. If snow does end up falling and stays late into March or April, the bike sales season will be pushed back and shortened, adding insult to injury. Of course, there's a lot of time for snow to fall between now and Spring. And, as Phelps says, he's seen summers in the north country that haven't really been summers, but he's never seen a winter that hasn't been a winter. Most Popular |
Monday, May 21, 2012
, Watertown, NY
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