SEASONAL STORE STATS
CHANA FRIEDMAN
TZIPPORAH, DOU BLE PLAY
Most nights in the Pre Purim season are working nights, as we can still be in the store at 12 or 1 a.m. We don’t hire extra staff, because it’s not worth the effort it takes to train them adequately. Instead, family members and our loyal staff chip in and stay as long as they can to ensure that everything happens before the Big Day. I can’t even give a starting time – we work on Purim six months a year! In order for our catalog to be out a month before Purim, we need to be ten steps ahead. We generally refer to the catalog of the year before. Each year after Purim, we take stock; we mark down which costumes sold well, and which didn’t. The leftover merchandise is kept in storage all year. The fact that costumes are so seasonal, (selling only for about
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two-three weeks a year) makes this line challenging and complicated. As soon as the pre-purim season hits, the costumes/accessories sell at an unusually quick rate. You don’t really see that kind of selling rate with other products. I can honestly say that most of our customers are happy with the service they receive. Some even take the time to let us know, which is really nice when you’ve had a long and tiring day. We also sometimes get the tricky phone calls where people ask us to sell them things that don’t exist or are not available. Fun Fact: If we tell you that an item doesn’t come in your size, it doesn’t come in your size. Generally, though, our customers are understanding and grateful, and we are grateful for that understanding.
