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FEATUR E By Tony Centonze
Businesses bounce back after lockdown As we begin to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, an ordeal that has closed schools, shuttered businesses, and taken too many lives, we stand at a crossroads. Though the health risks remain, a majority of business owners and employees are eager to get back to work. So, we move forward with a mix of caution and optimism. Andra Ruffier, Marketing Director for Governor's Square Mall, recently took a few minutes to talk about the devastating effects Covid-19 had on Clarksville's largest retail space, and its comeback which is now underway. “Early on, our tenants started having to adjust their payroll, and hours of operation, just to be able to meet their financial resonsibilities,” Ruffier said. “Customers just stopped coming in, and we started seeing more and more stores decide on their own to close. That happened before the Governor's mandate. A lot of our retailers started to close about two weeks prior to the lockdown because there were no customers. Governor Lee issued his mandate around March 24, but most of the stores had already made their decisions to close by St. Patrick's Day.” Ruffier said that by March 17 very few tenants were still open. That's when the remaining few decided to close as well. Apparently, the mom & pop's held out as long as they could. “For these smaller, locally owned businesses, this is their only means of income,” Ruffier said. “But, it was easier for them to close their doors, minimize their expenses and try to hold on. Their labor costs
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and utilities were more than they were doing in sales at that point. We had gone from being a very vibrant shopping center to maybe seeing one-hundred people per day. It was amazing to see business drop like that.” Ruffier watched as Clarksvillians took note of what was happening across the country and began to prepare for the worst. But, there were two distinctly different retail trends unfolding.
“So, if their customers buy something on-line, they can park in one of our designated areas, call the store, and say 'I'm here to pick up my item.' A store associate will walk the item out to their vehicle, check their identification, and deliver their product (s). Everyone is getting very innovative on how to get reopened, while establish new, safer ways to shop. It's interesting.” Ruffier says, customers are still waiting on
“I would go into GFS or Target,” Ruffier said. “There were swarms of people inside buying supplies, because they didn't know how long they were going to have to stay at home. Those two and Petco are retailers in our plaza area. They were able to stay open the entire time, because they were considered essential. It was such a startling contrast. These businesses actually did better than they normally would during this part of the year, while others literally did nothing.” Two months later, Governor Lee announces his phase-1 reopening in the majority of Tennessee's 95 counties. Rufier talks about how eager everyone was to get back to work, and the changes they are making to take care of their customers in these still uncertain times. “This has changed the way retailers operate,” Ruffier said. “A lot of them are now offering what we call 'touchless' shopping options. It's curbside service. We are also doing 'Mall to Go.' which gives tenants an option that allows curbside service to occur within their units, if they so choose.
Clarksville Living
Yada on Franklin
