WEBVTT >> WELCOME TO NEW HAMPSHIRE'S BUSINESS, I'M FRED KOCUR. HAVE YOU STOPPED AT YOUR LOCAL RETAIL STORE RECENTLY IN THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON? WELL, I HAVE AND I HOPE YOU HAVE. WE'LL TALK TO A COUPLE OF RETAILERS IN A MINUTE. FIRST LET'S LOOK AT NUMBERS BECAUSE IN THE BEST WEEK. THE AVERAGE WEEK IN NEW HAMPSHIRE FROM 2017, THE LOCAL RETAIL STORE NEW HAMPSHIRE, REVENUE IS 13,015 AND TRANSACTIONS $110 AND PURCHASE PRICE IS 119, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO CHRISTMAS, THE BEST WEEK IN THE YEAR AS YOU EXPECT THE DECEMBER 19TH TO THE 23RD GOES UP 208% AND THAT'S FROM LONG POINT ANALYTICS. NOW, HERE ARE U.S. RETAIL SALES 2018 IN OCTOBER, OCTOBER UP 0.8%, 2018 UP OVERALL, 4.6%. AND THEN U.S. RETAIL STORE SALES, OCTOBER, 2018. THIS IS INTERESTING. CLOTHING STORES UP .5%, FURNITURE STORES DOWN .3. BOOK AND HOBBY STORES UP .5 AND BOOK STORES UP AND .4. THAT GIVES YOU NUMBERS TO CHEW ON. PEOPLE WHO KNOW RETAIL AS GOOD AS ANYBODY I KNOW, THEY ARE NANCY KYLE, RETAIL ASSOCIATION AND MICHAEL HERMAN, OWNER OF A BOOKSTORE. WELCOME. >> AND THE TRADER'S LOFT IN TILTON. >> NICE TO HAVE YOU HERE. >> THANK YOU. >> NANCY, FIRST OF ALL, WHAT'S GOING ON IN NEW HAMPSHIRE RIGHT NOW. CHRISTMAS SEASON, HOW ARE SALES AMONG YOUR MEMBERS? >> SALES ARE VERY GOOD. WHAT'S REALLY HELPING US THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON, WE HAVE ALMOST AN EXTRA WEEK TO SHOP BECAUSE THANKSGIVING WAS SO EARLY. WE'VE GOT COLD WEATHER, PEOPLE ARE IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT, SO THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL. GAS PRICES ARE DROPPING. >> AND YOU SAID TO ME EARLIER, SOME OF THE SALES ARE ALL-TIME? >> SOME OF MY RETAILERS HAVE SAID THAT THEY'RE HAVING THEIR BEST YEARS EVER. >> MICHAEL, YOU OWN GIBSON'S BOOKSTORE IN CONCORD. I'VE BEEN IN YOUR STORE, IT'S VERY NICE, HOW DO YOU COMPETE WITH BARNES & NOBLE, WITH BAM AND WITH AMAZON ONLINE. DO YOU DO SOMETHING OUTSIDE THE BOX? >> WELL, IT'S MORE FIGURING OUT WHAT YOUR BOX IS AND THEN DOING THAT REALLY WELL, AS WELL AS YOU CAN. >> RIGHT. >> NOW, YOU JUST HAVE TO BE, YOU KNOW, IMAGINATIVE AND NIMBLE. YOU HAVE TO BE STUBBORN. YOU KNOW, AND YOU HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU CAN DO BEST FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS THAT YOUR COMPETITION CAN'T DO, AND THEN EMPHASIZE THAT AND DO IT THE BEST YOU CAN. >> BECOME A PART OF THE COMMUNITY? >> YEAH, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO GIVE PEOPLE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO BE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, IN A STORE, IN A CULTURAL SETTING THAT ISN'T IN FRONT OF A SCREEN, GIVING PEOPLE AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE. >> ARE YOU COMPETING ONLINE? >> YEAH, WE DO. IT'S NOT-- OUR MAIN GOAL IS TO GET PEOPLE IN THE PHYSICAL STORE. >> RIGHT. >> BUT WE OFFER ONLINE SALES AS WELL. >> HOW ARE SALES AT CHRISTMAS? >> SALES ARE UP. IT'S A LITTLE EARLY TO TELL AND IT'S SO WEATHER DEPENDENT WHEN YOU'RE IN ONE LOCATION, BUT SO FAR THIS YEAR, GIBSON'S HAS BEEN UP SEVEN OUT OF THE 11 MONTHS, SOME OF THE BEST MONTHS IN THE HISTORY OF THE STORE. >> AND YOUR BUSINESS IS TO HORSE LOVERS AND OWNER AND YOU ARE A HORSE LOVER AND OWNER. >> I AM. >> YOU'RE IN YOUR FIRST YEAR IN TILTON AND YOU HAVE A STORE ON MAIN STREET THAT CATERS TO HORSE LOVERS AROUND THE STATE. HOW ARE YOU COMPETING? I MEAN, HERE YOU ARE, RIGHT OUT OF THE CHUTE, AND I WENT ONLINE JUST FOR THE SAKE OF IT, TO FIND OUT WHAT YOUR COMPETITION IS AND I STOPPED COUNTING AT 219 ONLINE WEBSITES TO DO SIMILAR THINGS TO WHAT YOU DO. HOW DO YOU COMPETE? >> WE ACTUALLY HAVE A SPECIFIC NICHE WITHIN THE HORSE COMMUNITY THAT IS THAT WE DO CON SICONSIGN AND FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO SEE, FEEL WHAT WE'RE OFFERING AND THE PLACE THAT GATHERS IN THE NATURAL AND HOLISTIC SUPPLIES IN ONE LOCATION. >> ONE STOP SHOPPING? >> WE'RE TRYING AND BUILDING AND LEARNING WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS WANT AND THE THIRD WAY THAT WE'RE BUILDING AND REALLY GROWING INTO WHO WE ARE, WE WANT TO BECOME A COMMUNITY HUB FOR HORSE LOVERS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, AND TO THAT END, WE'RE GOING TO BE OFFERING FREE CLASSES THROUGH THE WINTER ON DIFFERENT SUBJECTS THAT WOULD REALLY APPEAL TO EQUESTRIANS. >> THE EQUESTRIAN BUSINESS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE IS A STRONG ONE? >> WE HAVE A LOT OF HORSES AND HORSE LOVERS IN THIS STATE. >> ALL RIGHT, WELL, I WANT TO THANK EACH OF YOU. THIS IS SHORT, BUT SWEET, BUT INTERESTING, ESPECIALLY THE HORSE INTERVIEW. I THINK I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THE EQUESTRIAN BUSINES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE WAS SO VIBRANT AS YOU HAVE TOLD ME. ANYHOW, NANCY FROM THE RETAIL ASSOCIATION AND MICHAEL HE