SACRAMENTO—
In 2010, Black Friday gives way to something new: Small Business Saturday. The day was created by a major credit card company, but it brings about an interesting question: How does a small business survive corporate and commercial clutter of the holiday shopping season?"They oughta have the size here," Frank DeMarco came to The Sports Shop in Elk Grove to buy his sons letterman's jacket. The store is miles from the nearest shopping center, but DeMarco knows he's getting his money's worth here "We can get custom things here, embroidery, the numbers on the shirt, things like this (pointing to a letterman's jacket)."
Over the past 33 years the store has carved out a niche catering to the competitive athlete. You want a batting glove? The Sports Shop has hundreds of them, "Someone that's serious about the game, we carry high end products and we carry price items too. The high end product the customer comes in asking for by name that's been a good mix for us," says Mark Willeford, one of the partners in this family owned business.
The American Express credit card company manufactured this tribute to small business; "The first ever small business Saturday" the company even bought commercial time on the major network television networks. American Express does market a small business credit card, but the event is thought provoking. Black Friday is filled with excitement, hysteria and great deals; deals that will give way to other great deals a few days from now.
Shoppers are overwhelmed by the false sense of urgency "I feel so much pressure, like me and my friends went to the mall at 1:00 A.M. and there was a line that extended at least a quarter of a mile and I was like---I'm slipping because everyone else in ahead of the game with me," says one unidentified man.
According to the Small Business Administration 65% of all new jobs are created by small businesses. And, for every $100 spent in locally owned, independent stores, $68 goes back into the community in the form of taxes, payroll and other expenses.
Back at The Sports Shop in Elk Grove, the hum of a sewing machine represents something you can't get at just any sporting goods store: custom embroidery. And what store let's you try out a $350 metal baseball bat before you buy it? "That's quite an investment," Willeford says "we want the customer to get what they need and it might not be that 350-dollar baseball bat."
But, if you like that bat you can take it down the hallway to the batting cages. Unique is one thing, but finding a customer base is another. 14 year old Anessa Kaylor is working to make the high school softball team and The Sports Shop is her lifeline "We enjoy coming here. We're here three times a week, so we get everything in one spot. She can train here and get her gear here," says Brian Kaylor her father.
Small Business Saturday has more than one million Facebook friends. In fact, Facebook is donating $500,000 in promotional services to small businesses. But the challenges just keep coming. Up next, Cyber Monday! The so-called busiest on-line shopping day of the year.
