City Lighting Up for Holiday Season

Maggie Wall/KMXT

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas in downtown Kodiak. While we may hope the snow stays away a while longer, we can’t help but notice the Christmas ornaments and light– indoors and out around the downtown area.

KMXT’s Maggie Wall talked with several downtown merchants to get their take on Kodiak’s "Christmas Present."

— (((Christmas Merchants 3:07 "Economic experts…done that year." SOQ" )))

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Economic experts often say that Alaska’s and by extension Kodiak’s economy has a different rhythm than that in communities outside the state.

So despite the economic woes we hear so much about in other part of the country, local merchants appear optimistic about this year’s retail sales.

Traditionally the day after Thanksgiving is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. It’s called Black Friday because it is the day that puts many retailers into the black-or making a profit. It also serves as a crystal ball for the rest of the holiday season.

Mark Daly is a manager at Sutliff’s Hardware. He says by time Black Friday rolls around, his store is already about half-way through its holiday season. Sutliff’s pretty much starts its holiday efforts around Halloween.

Like last year, Sutliff’s aimed to boost its sales and visibility by hosting a night just for the gals to shop:

— ((CUT 1 :55 sec "Well actually…before we kick things off."))"

Another downtown shop that gears up at Halloween is Norman’s Gifts on the Mall. Every year, as soon as the goblins go away, so does all the extraneous stuff in the store. In come a half dozen Christmas trees crammed full ornaments.

Norman’s owner, Kelly Bennett shares her special story that goes with all those Christmas goodies:

— ((CUT 2 :25 sec "The reason I do…dress it up every year."))

Bennett says of course, she’s confident of a good holiday season-she’s a retailer:

— ((CUT 3 :16 sec ‘I think …enjoys being with each other."))

Meanwhile back at Sutliff’s, Daly says he too, is optimistic about this season’s:

— ((CUT 4 :41 sec "It’s the holiday season… …done that this year."))

I’m Maggie Wall.

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