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Business has wilted at The Posey Shoppe. So the 70-year-old local floral and home décor store launched a going-out-of-business sale Thursday.
Several factors contributed to the decision, co-owner Rhonda Dennon said. For one thing, receipts are 30 percent to 40 percent less than this time last year.
“Has my rent gone down? No,” she said. “Has my phone or utility bill gone down? No.”
Dennon and her sister, Sandy Morrell, have saved where they could. They’ve cut the staff to nine full-time and part-time workers. At its height, the shop in Village at Coventry employed 14.
“After a while, it’s not fun anymore,” Dennon said.
The sisters are also dreading the upcoming demolition of the nearby Scott’s Food & Pharmacy store. Kroger Co., which owns and operates Scott’s, announced in March it will raze the grocery and surrounding small retailers and replace them with a much larger, marketplace-format store. No timeline has been announced, but the work is expected to start in the next few months.
“I think when that happens it will be pretty much chaos around here,” Dennon said.
The co-owners didn’t want to go through the hassle of moving their lamps, artwork, silk arrangements and other merchandise into a new, nondescript space and spend years trying to make it feel like their own. Dennon, 60, and Morrell, 63, are talking about spending at least a short time enjoying retirement after their store closes.
They’re mum on long-term plans but will continue selling and delivering fresh flower arrangements through Dec. 23.
Everything else in the 4,000-square-foot shop has been marked down for the liquidation sale, which is being run by a Denver company.
Independent florists have been battling increased competition from groceries, large discounters and convenience stores, which all sell fresh bouquets. The Internet has also siphoned some business from local stores, industry experts say.
Even though competition is fierce, a local store owner is disappointed to see another floral shop close. Cheryl Wene, co-owner of Lopshire Flowers on East State Boulevard, said The Posey Shoppe will be missed.
“They’ve … done quality work for a lot of years,” she said. “They had a beautiful store. It’s sad.”
