Some shops hit, others unscathed by recession

Veronica Ullsa may have trouble putting on a happy face in the next few months. Over the last several weeks, her Walnut Street store Smiles has reported low sales, and the shop's owner has even been forced to change the store's inventory to attract buyers. Ullsa's Shops at Penn store, now strictly an accessory shop, has been in financial trouble ever since Ullsa opened up two years ago due to the recession and the seasonability of students. "Sales were awful in the beginning of January, and awful at the end of December," Ullsa said. "No one was around, I know it's seasonable, but it's very tough." Shops at Penn and the 3401 Cafe merchants reported radically different financial outlooks yesterday. Some cited a banner holiday season, while others said the recession and winter break have them swimming in red ink. John McGreevery, the general manager of the Shops at Penn food court said yesterday that the current market is "cautiously healthy" and that people are still buying, but are more wary and aware of sales and competition. "Things are at or a little better than last year," McGreevery said yesterday. "When the merchants met I think everybody was optimistic." McGreevery added that all spaces in the Walnut Street facility are occupied and although he could not provide statistics, he said the food court and retail shops, "on the whole," are doing well. The Philadelphia Steaks and Gyro company, opening February 1, will replace the vacancy in the food court that emerged Olivieri Prince Steaks closed last year. "The recession is obviously slowing things down a little, but retail did well through Christmas," McGreevey said. "It's back to normal again -- it's busy." Foot Locker, like Smiles, however, is not seeing the business that some of the other stores are enjoying. "It's been very slow, very slow, definitely not as good as last year at this time," Manager Steve Dandridge said. "A lot of it has to do with the recession." But the Gap and Attivo, two retail clothing stores in the shopping center, said yesterday that they had a very successful holiday season. Assistant Manager Monique Upsur said Attivo had the best Christmas in three years, but noted that approximately 85 percent of the store's clients are not students, making them less prone to declines during vacation periods. "We've been pretty steady, unlike some stores which are saying 'oh no what will we do,'" Upsur said. "Sales during the Christmas period were amazing." Anne Geary, assistant manager of the Gap said her store also had a "great" holiday season, reflecting the clothing chain's strong national sales despite the recession. McGreevery said that the shopping center reaches a market of approximately one circular mile. Besides the University, buyers come from Drexel University, area hotels, the Civic Center and some of West Philadelphia. He added that the shops may begin attracting more business from tourists who come to the area, particularly visitors who will be coming to Philadelphia to mark the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' voyage. "We are optimistic for sales," McGreevery said. "Our market is doing relatively well compared to other shopping malls."

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