Posted on 04/03/2009 1:11:36 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
BROOKSVILLE - Cheap indulgences are must-haves for those who have little money and added stress.
Sweet sells, even during a recession. Ice cream shops across the country are still seeing lines out the door.
Sales at the local stores are likely to surge even more once the hot, humid weather hits the area.
"We're still pretty regular here," said Lorna Atiles of Spring Hill, who brought her 7-year-old daughter with her Wednesday to Rita's Italian Ice at the Coastal Way Shopping Center. "It's an affordable treat. With the way things are, it's good that we can still come and get our Rita's."
The temperature outside was nearing 90 degrees. Co-manager Karen Rockwell was expecting a busy night. Her crowd is heaviest after 7 p.m. and the rush doesn't normally wane for at least a couple hours.
"This company has been around for 25 years," she said as she conveyed defiance in the midst of a recession. "The Rita's brand has had a big following."
Steve Thompson is the president and CEO of Emory Thompson Machine in Brooksville. His company makes ice cream and gelato machines for "mom and pop" ice cream shops across the country.
His business has succeeded for two main reasons — the stable ice cream market and the added emphasis on buying American brands.
Emory Thompson is the only company in the United States that manufactures and sells the custom-made ice cream machines and batch freezers that many local stores prefer, he said.
"So far, I'd say business is very good here," Thompson said. "Like anyone else, we're trying to work smarter."
Thompson cut expenses by abandoning expensive trade shows and by including how-to DVDs with the delivery of a new machine. The latter meant fewer service calls and wasted manpower. The result has been a noticeable boost in sales.
Emory Thompson supplies machines for several locally owned ice cream shops in the region, including Tanya and Matt's Icecreamiest and the Old Meeting House, both in Tampa, and the Flavor Shack in New Port Richey.
"We don't sell to the chains," Thompson said. "We prefer the mom and pop stores. They want more of a personal touch."
In spite of the confidence from Thompson and Rockwell and despite the national trends, some ice cream shops have closed in Hernando County during the past year.
Erin Sullivan, owner of the newly opened D'lites Emporium in Spring Hill, thinks those closings had more to do with poorly chosen locations, subpar ownership and inferior products.
To her, ice cream is as recession-proof as any industry — as long as it is mixed and priced properly. "Even though the economy is bad, people still have to eat," she said. "Ice cream is still a relatively inexpensive treat."
Sullivan's store is located next to the Publix at the corner of Barclay Avenue and Spring Hill Drive. She often sees children tug at their parents' clothes and beg them to make a detour into the ice cream store after they finish their grocery shopping.
"It gives families a reason to go out," she said. "A lot of people love dessert and a lot of people are ice cream fans."
I don’t see the area restaurants around me hurting for business either. Especially the chains like Outback, Olive Garden, etc...packed every night.
Seasonal forces can mask what’s really going on in a market. Ice cream sales probably peak every year in the summer, for example. For this reason, it wouldn’t tell you much about the overall state of the business if you compared August’s ice cream sales to September’s without taking this seasonal effect into account.
The same logic applies to the job market. Areas driven largely by agriculture or tourism, for example, might expect to have fewer jobs available in the off-season, recession or no recession. The B.L.S. tries to control for these expected, seasonal fluctuations so that you can get a better sense of what’s really going on in the job market.
The reason the B.L.S. doesn’t seasonally adjust at the local level probably has to do with the sample size for each county and metropolitan area. Economists at the B.L.S. may not have enough data points available to make a good judgment on the typical seasonal effects they should expect for a given area.
“I don’t see the area restaurants around me hurting for business either. Especially the chains like Outback, Olive Garden, etc...packed every night.”
It’s going to take a lot more of a crisis to get American women cooking again!
I don’t care if it’s 30 below zero. Don’t touch our ice cream or you’re dead.
See here also ( the Canadian Market up North seem to be mirroring the USA). This gives you and indication of what kind of businesses are at least resistant to recession :
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090323.wLluxuries0323/BNStory/lifeMain/home
What’s up what’s down
We may have put those big-ticket items on hold, but Canadians still have room for small indulgences
Plans for an overseas summer vacation may be out the window, but at least there’s still money to buy chocolate.
The onset of a recession means many Canadians are looking for ways to trim their budgets. But for all of the big-ticket sacrifices, there is still room for small indulgences.
It’s well known that in tough times, many consumers keep spending - or even increase spending - on small goodies such as cosmetics, sweets and books. Some refer to the phenomenon the “Lipstick Index” - the theory that women tend to buy more lipstick during harsh economic times, based on reports that sales soared during the Great Depression and in subsequent recessions.
Chocolate, ice cream and candy are already seeing a lipstick-like bump during this recession. “Customers are very much into food-seeking and affordable decadence,” said Karin Campbell, manager of corporate affairs at Wal-Mart Canada.
Ms. Campbell said sales of anti-aging skin cream, cosmetics, books, craft supplies and board games, as well as candy, ice cream and chocolate, have been very strong in recent months. But instead of buying premium-priced brand name goodies, Canadians are turning toward store brand chocolate and ice cream, for instance.
Meanwhile, sales of energy drinks, jeans, MP3 players and many types of refrigerated food (which tend to cost more than frozen foods) are expected to drop in the U.S. this year, according to a forecast from Mintel International Group, a global consumer research firm. Coffee and doughnut shops will also likely see a decline in traffic as more people get their caffeine jolt at home.
Staple items such as frozen food, bread, and products sold in bulk are expected to rise in the U.S. in 2009, according to Mintel. But they also predict sales of candy, coffee sold for home brewing, cosmetics and sunless tanners will jump as consumers look for small ways to treat themselves.
That means while many companies are seeing major losses as a result of tightened consumer spending, profits have been up at Cadbury, Procter & Gamble (which produces the CoverGirl and Olay brands) and Shoppers Drug Mart. Hershey’s profit rose 51 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the previous year.
At the same time, Starbucks has been battered by slowing sales. Last week, CEO Howard Schultz declared Starbucks is going to fight the perception that all of its drinks cost at least $4, and recently introduced a line of instant coffee to attract budget-minded consumers.
High-end cosmetics retailers like Elizabeth Arden and Estée Lauder have also suffered from reduced spending. Profit at Estée Lauder, which owns brands such as Clinique and MAC, dropped 30 per cent in the second quarter ending Dec. 31.
Canadians haven’t closed their wallets completely. But it does seem they’re trading down as a result of the economic downturn and loss of confidence in the financial system, said Ken Wong, a professor of marketing and business strategy at Queen’s School of Business in Kingston, Ont.
So if they go out for coffee, they may skip the latte and buy the cheaper drip coffee. And instead of buying designer jeans, they go for the less expensive store brand. Canadians are looking for ways to save, but they’ll also find ways to keep some consumer pleasures intact.
“You can’t modify your lifestyle overnight and expect to maintain any degree of sanity,” Prof. Wong said. “I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing for people to say ‘You know what, I still owe myself an indulgence.’ “
A major reason why Canadians may be clinging to those indulgences is that they’re not used to denying themselves, Prof. Wong said. And as many are finding out, sacrifices aren’t easy to make.
“It’s easy to ratchet up your standard of living. It’s much harder for people to ratchet it down.”
Take David Pham. A recent university grad who entered the work force in Toronto earlier this year, Mr. Pham hasn’t been directly affected by the economic downturn. But like many Canadians, he’s being more cautious with his money and cutting back on items that used to be staple purchases.
His biggest sacrifice has been cigarettes, which he gave up three weeks ago. Although he’s tried to quit in the past, the grim financial picture gave him the final push he needed to kick the habit.
“The 20 to 30 dollars a week on cigarettes becomes something I’m adding on to my budget now every week,” Mr. Pham said.
He’s also much more cautious about making impulse buys, and has cut down on the number of movies he goes out to see.
But for all of the sacrifices, Mr. Pham makes allowances for inexpensive - but much needed - small luxuries. He can live without smoking and can have more quiet nights at home, but Mr. Pham said he’s not prepared to give up buying coffee.
“I do leave a certain amount for sanity,” he said.
““I don’t see the area restaurants around me hurting for business either. Especially the chains like Outback, Olive Garden, etc...packed every night.”
It’s going to take a lot more of a crisis to get American women cooking again!”
LOL..you said it not me. I will say that a lot of these chains are offering good deals, cutting prices on the menu, etc.
Unfortunately, they have to work also just to pay the taxes and try to get ahead. Maybe they should be barefoot and pregnant. Sounds good to me. “Get me another beer, dear”! Please!
“Maybe they should be barefoot and pregnant. Sounds good to me. “Get me another beer, dear”! Please!”
You bet! Good to see you’re learning.
Ice cream is comfort food. Somehow a heaping bowl of the sweet cold stuff makes bad things disappear...until they show up on your hips that is!
You need to see someone about that. You are not well
Call me cheap but an affordable ice cream treat would be to buy the ice cream and toppings at the grocery store and forgo the $5 to $7 ice cream sundae at the ice cream store.......
And if Mrs. Nevergore reads this post, yes I know I’m cheap!
We enjoy ice cream as much in the winter as we do the summer. Why? Because we can. I guess it’s our comfort food. We even make our own. When strawberries are in season, watch out! Zap some peanut butter and pour over vanilla ice cream - Canteloupe sliced up with chocolate ice cream - and yes we grow the strawberries, canteloupes and the peanuts. It’s a wonderful life. Except for HR875 that is coming. I’m ready. Are they?
I suspect this may have a lot to do with people "keeping things simple" and spending money on small pleasures rather than big ones (vacations, etc.).
You got it right. See here :
http://www.thespec.com/go/living/article/538042
Recession has a sweet side
Scott Gardner, the Hamilton Spectator
When the going gets tough, the tough get chocolate. Or candies and pastries and ice cream.
The sweet treat industry is proving itself perhaps not recession-proof, but certainly recession-resistant.
For very little outlay, people can enjoy a wicked little something designed to do nothing but taste good. And they are.
Juliene Gauthier is seeing it every day at her Candi Werx stores in the Hamilton Farmers’ Market and on King Street West in Westdale.
“People might think twice about taking that lavish vacation or buying the plasma TV,” she says. “But they’ll pick up a $2 or $3 or $4 treat instead. It’s the little indulgences that are making them happy.”
Whether that’s a bag of blackballs, a jube-dotted nougat or a strip of candy buttons, it doesn’t matter, says Gauthier, whose sales have been going up steadily. It’s simply a quick and inexpensive hit of pleasure in these times of uncertainty and worry.
Susie Schilling is seeing the same thing at her Locke Street sweets emporium, Exclusively Schilling. There has been no dip in sales, she says, and Valentine’s Day receipts were better than last year.
“The trick is to keep prices reasonable,” says Schilling who makes her own chocolates and European-style pastries.
“I keep most of the things under $5. People still want to indulge, especially with ice cream. It’s still a cheap outing to go with your kids to an ice cream shop, and spend $10 on ice cream.
“It’s cheaper than going to the movies. You sit on a cute patio on a pretty street and it’s a pick-me-up. It takes you out of your bad mood.”
Schilling says she just has to tell people what she does for a living and a twinkle comes into their eyes.
“There’s just something about sweets.”
It’s not just the mom-and-pop shops that are seeing the staying power of candy.
The New York Times reported this week that the big candy makers are experiencing increased sales and unexpected profits. Cadbury, it said, had a 30 per cent rise in profit in 2008 and Nestle’s grew by 10.9 per cent. Hershey limped through the year until its fourth quarter, when profits leaped by 8.5 per cent.
Peter Liebhold, chairman of the Smithsonian Institution’s work and industry division, told the paper that “candy companies are relatively recession-proof.”
“During the Great Depression, candy companies stayed in business.”
In fact, such enduring favourites as Tootsie Pops, Snickers and Three Musketeers bars were developed in the depths of the Depression. Hershey enjoyed such good corporate health during the 1930s that it was able to finance its own work program for the unemployed.
It’s not just about finding comfort in the treats, says McMaster University business professor Marvin Ryder, but also exercising a degree of control.
“We all need to find coping mechanisms for whatever stress is in our lives, and this (recession) is certainly a shock to the nervous system,” says Ryder.
People may choose to buy the $6 extra grande mochalattechino, go back to the gym or, yes, buy a bucket of Double Bubble — anything that temporarily blocks out the bad news and gives them some control.
“A little something to savour doesn’t make the bad news go away. But you didn’t do anything wrong (to cause it.) So you seek control where you can find it.”
“This isn’t unique to this recession,” he said. “We saw it in the early ‘90s and in the early ‘80s. When something happens that changes our major shopping habits, we seem to make up for blocked desires by indulging ourselves in more affordable desires.
“People think, in theory, I should be saving money, but I’ve been a good boy and I’m going to have that expensive coffee,” he said. “I still feel I’m worth something. And if I don’t treat myself, who will? It’s like the L’Oreal commercials: ‘Because I’m worth it.’
“In good times, you might reward yourself by taking a trip to Hawaii,” he said. “In bad times, when you can’t afford the big prize, you switch to a smaller prize.”
Harry Walker agrees that “this might not be the time to go out and buy a Lamborghini,” but expects that consumers will continue to find solace and pleasure in chocolate.
“Chocolate should hold up maybe better than other things,” says the president of Burlington-based Walker’s Chocolates. “I’m fairly confident it will. We did really well in the ‘90s, despite the doom and gloom.
“It does boost your happiness,” he says, citing research that equates the effects on the brain from eating chocolate to the emotion of falling in love.
“Chocolate is seen as a very pleasurable thing that gives you satisfaction.”
Customers will continue to buy the five-pound box of chocolates, he predicts, but more customers will also spend a couple of bucks on a little bag of jelly beans or chocolate lips.
Same reason people grille and eat sizzling hot steaks when it's 100 outside.
They like the taste!
Dang stuff is about $15 a gallon if you get the expensive stuff.
Because you don't smear it on the outside of your body. Your internal body temperature only varies a few degrees, and the appeal of ice cream is how it melts in your mouth (along with the high butterfat and sugar content).
It's a Wisconsin thing.
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