Black or plaid, several local businesses report strong sales Friday

Nov. 26—The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, has long been synonymous with big discounts, holiday shopping and heavy foot traffic for stores nationwide. And some local business owners — who also know the day as Plaid Friday — say sales were great this year and reflective of pre-pandemic levels.

"It's been crazy in here," Ted McGreer of Ted's Shoe and Sport in downtown Keene said in a phone interview Friday. "We've certainly been seeing a high customer volume today."

McGreer added that Black Friday last year was a big day for product sales for the store, and this Friday was shaping out to be just as good.

The website for The Local Crowd Monadnock, a community-based business crowdfunding program in Keene, listed Ted's among 30 locations participating in Plaid Friday this year, a twist on Black Friday that celebrates independent area businesses. The website encouraged customers to wear plaid and support small businesses, as "a fun and enjoyable alternative to the big box store 'Black Friday' consumer frenzy."

The Toadstool Bookshop, which has stores in Keene, Peterborough and Nashua, also participated.

Don Luckham, manager of the Keene store, said it had more customers Friday than he could count.

"There's a lot of support in the area for independent businesses, so it's a big day for us," he said. "[Today] feels like it's on par with past years. It seems like we're seeing people come in because they want the experience of seeing the physical book."

Other stores in downtown Keene were abuzz with shoppers as well.

Amie Ayotte, owner of Mon Amie Fine Jewelry on Main Street, said she was grateful to see people shopping local as opposed to browsing for products from big companies online.

"Everyone has been very loyal to Mon Amie, and we're blessed to have people still shopping at brick and mortar stores, and we're doing great," she said. Ayotte said she thinks there's a draw in shopping at small businesses that's lacking when buying from big stores or on the Internet.

"People want that interaction, and they want to talk to people and see other people out shopping while wearing their plaid, to see others from the area," she said.

Gary Tateosian, owner of Synergy on Main Street, said he was pleased to see many customers in the clothing store Friday. As he spoke to a reporter at about 3 p.m., there were around 20 people inside. Tateosian said he expected to see hundreds of customers that day, which appeared to be lining up with last year's Black Friday.

He added that he thinks a big pull for Synergy was a 20-percent-off sale the store ran for nearly all products that day.

"It feels about on par," he said. "I'd say we're going to be happy with the end of the day."

But strong sales weren't seen by everyone. As of about 3:30 p.m., Tim Pipp, owner of Beeze Tees on Main Street, said it had been a slow day. Between his store in Keene and another Beeze Tees location in Manchester, he said he'd seen fewer than 20 transactions on Friday. He said sales were comparable to a typical weekday, but he was definitely hoping for more.

"It's not great, foot traffic is down," he said. "The last two years have been slow. I remember in 2019 we had a phenomenal year."

On that Plaid Friday, Beeze Tees saw 50 transactions in the Keene store alone. The Manchester location didn't open until 2020.

Pipp added that he thinks this Friday's overcast weather might have had an impact on the number of shoppers coming in. Overall he said 2022 has been a good year; he just expected more the day after Thanksgiving.

"I think it's so important to shop local," he said. "It might be easier to find your products online, but if you can buy it locally and spend an extra maybe 25 cents, it goes a long way."

Hunter Oberst can be reached at 355-8546, or hoberst@keenesentinel.com.