Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 12/1/2020
WESTERN MASS. – With the holiday season swiftly approaching, local gift shops and retail organizations are hoping to propel their businesses forward.
Building 451, a family-owned gift shop, is currently trying their best to stay open during a pandemic that continues to hurt most companies financially. The Agawam business is now being taken care of by Cindy Olechny after her father ran into some health problems over the years.
The expectation at first, according to Olechny, was that the shop was going to have to conduct a going-out-of-business sale, but they did pretty well since reopening in 2017, and she said that they were just “coasting along,” until COVID-19 hit.
Right before COVID, the plan was to do a vendor marketplace at their location at 59 Springfield St.
Their startup date for this was March 15, which is right around the time non-essential businesses were beginning to close.
“As a non-essential business, we had to close for March, April, and May,” said Olechny. “We didn’t open until June 9.”
During the time when the shop was closed, Olechny said that they were doing everything in their power to sell online, or wholesale to people. When they did reopen, Olechny and company asked the vendor people from the planned marketplace to come in so there could be some merchandise set up in the store.
“We now have the store set up pretty well,” said Olechny. “We have a very diverse selection of goods.”
These “goods” include garden flags, “thousands of books, thousands of vinyl albums,” essential oils, incense, sage for burning in the house, designer clothing, and much more. They currently have a renter who carries men’s health items like shaving, beard wash and beard oils.
“[The shop] has really switched over to very gifty,” said Olechny. “Right now we are overrun with books.”
For the holiday season, Olechny was able to scrounge up enough money to do a radio advertisement, but they could not afford to do a television ad, which is something they were able to do last year.
“Our hours are reduced, and the people that work here are at the barest possible minimum,” said Olechny. “We are behind on the rent because we are closed for so many months.”
Olechny describes their shop’s situation as “dire,” and said they probably will not make it unless this vendor marketplace can turn their financial struggles around.
Right now, they are selling freshly-cut Christmas trees that she and her husband cut down for the shop, as well as other seasonal décor such as Halloween, Christmas, etc. She said that people will religiously buy cards at the shop as well.
“Also, I have a lot of book buyers who resell,” said Olechny. “They come in, they’ll scan my books, and we give them a bulk discount price because they are buying so many.”
A lot of these books span years and eras, and some are dedicated to one specific section or topic. There are books about American history, Native American history, archaeology, etc. The music collection is also very expansive, according to Olechny. It includes “hundreds and hundreds” of records ranging from opera, to classical, to folk.
“If you want something unique, this is the place,” said Olechny. “You are not going to get anything electronic in here. You are going to getting something totally unique that you haven’t seen anywhere else.”
Once Upon a Child (OUAC), a chain operation in West Springfield that buys and sells gently-used items for children, is similarly trying to do as much business as they can during the pandemic.
“The biggest adjustment we’ve made is to pretty much eliminate any large events,” said Larry White, the owner of OUAC. “Normally we do a big toy reveal where we put out more than a thousand toys that have never been opened before.”
To abide by safety guidelines, OUAC has decided to approach their toy reveal incrementally, and only put some out at a time, in the store. Residents are encouraged to check on the OUAC Facebook page for updates on when the next batch of toys will be rolled out.
“We are just trying to be under an abundance of caution,” he said.
The other important aspect of OUAC, according to White, is the idea that what they are doing with the children’s toys is environmentally beneficial. Residents sell their gently-used toys that they do not need, and the company sells them for reuse.
“We process hundreds and thousands of items every year,” said White. “Items that we don’t purchase in our OUAC, if the customer wants, we donate them to the Springfield Rescue Mission, and they are recycled yet again.”
White said this process is a great way for people to save “50 to 70 percent” off mall prices, but also do something great for the environment.
“We try to give back when we can, so we are grateful to be a part of the community,” said White. “It is a good system for everybody. We can help save the environment, help save some money. A lot of people come into the store and can buy things they otherwise couldn’t, because our price points are great.”
In Westfield, PlayNow Toy and Game’s owner Ray Vigneault said the priority this holiday season is keeping shoppers safe.
“We’re just trying to make sure we maintain a safe environment and we’re always sanitizing the doors, the counters, and all the high touch points throughout the day. Something I’ve never seen before in retail is kids are being told to shop with their eyes, and it works. They’re pretty well behaved for the most part,” he said.
He also said anyone high-risk for the virus may call the store to schedule a time outside of store hours to browse the store.
Vigneault said the hottest item this year is Baby Yoda from Disney’s “The Mandalorian.”
“Of course, Baby Yoda is number one, that is huge. Super LEGO Mario has been hot, and puzzles and board games are popular again now that families are spending time together in the house, so there has been a great resurgence for those,” he said.
Along with keeping everyone safe, Vigneault said he wants to help shoppers get the gifts they want this year.
“We’re just making sure we can get as many things under the tree as people are looking for. We put more orders in yesterday, right up to the last minute if we can get product, I will get it for our customers. We’re trying to make as man y people happy as we can,” he said.