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Discover Mid-America — December 2007
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Am I detecting a trend here?
by Bruce Rodgers, Editor/Publisher
When I first stepped into the job of publisher of Discover Mid-America, I was a little taken back during my first holiday season. From my vantage point many antique shop/mall owners sort of blew-off the whole holiday shopping thing. By that I mean there wasn’t the big sales “push” one usually anticipated from retailers.
Many antique retailers used the time of year to pack it in for a while. Some shops closed — or at least didn’t advertise with us — because the owners we heading to Arizona, Texas or Florida, or going somewhere to visit grandkids or cutting their hours back, whatever. The general malaise was that nobody buys antiques or collectibles at Christmas time.
For a publisher of a publication dependent upon advertising such an attitude can lead to a bad case of “holiday depression.”
And as if to avoid the heavy traffic, some antique shops and malls held their holiday open houses in late October, with the bulk coming in November. It was like sending up a final flare before the darkness settled in.
As for the antique show promoters, they moved over for the craft shows come mid-November and through December.
In my opinion, the really smart show promoters either stuck to their regular schedule or stepped over to the craft side for a time, however gingerly, by promoting “folk art, quilts and quality crafters” with (GASP!) antiques. Those promoters have noticed that the craft buying demographic (i.e. women) is very much like the antique and collectible buying demographic.
Why do I say this? Because Discover Mid-America is picked up eagerly at every craft show we distribute at.
But things appear to be changing somewhat. I no longer see holiday open houses in October. And where I use to be told December was too late for an open house, some are giving the first week of that month a try.
Another sign is that our advertisers are increasing using this holiday season to advertise sales — “holiday sales.” Also, the response to our Holiday Gift Guide (in this issue, too) has been very good. We look forward to a bigger and better one next year.
This trend points to a growing sophistication on the part of antique shop owners. Giving up a consumer segment or time of year because that’s the way it’s always been is not good business.
The antique purists are an important part of this business. But not the only part. The high-end will take care of itself; the rest of us need to adapt while staying true to what we love about the antique and collectibles business.
And as a final note: I want to personally thank our readers, advertisers and vendors for being a part of this publication. All of us at Discover Mid-America wish you the best for the holidays.
Bruce Rodgers can be contacted at publisher@discoverypub.com.
> Refurnished Thoughts Archive — past columns
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