Tony Thompson, manager of Hobby Lobby in Mankato.
Happy Holidays Local stores gear up for the important holiday season By Tim Krohn | Photos by John Cross and Pat Christman
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f you’re in the retail business, this time of year brings a mixture of anxiety, stress, promise and hope as the allimportant holiday shopping season begins. Paul Wilke, manager of River Hills Mall, has been working through a two-year budget and strategy plan for General Growth Properties, owner of the mall and the second largest mall operator in the country. “It’s a busy time of year. As retailing continues to move and change, we continue to put the puzzle together — with the leases that come up in the next two years, do you renew them or bring in some new retailers?” Wilke said. “You always have to watch the mix and keep things growing.”
At the hilltop Hy-Vee store, manager Dan Olson and his staff are bracing for their biggest weeks of the year — Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Super Bowl. “Halloween to the Super bowl is a big time. It’s all about the food. You have to have the right food, the fresh food people want,” Olson said. Tony Thompson, manager of Hobby Lobby, long ago began putting out Christmas items, but it’s another holiday that’s grown beyond belief. “Halloween just keeps growing bigger and bigger,” said Thompson of what has become the second largest commercial holiday in the country after Christmas. Holiday parties for businesses and at home ramps up business for Lisa Tscherter’s Kitchen, a catering business.
Cover Story
14 • october 2013 • MN Valley Business