Retail in Boston slowly back to normal

A week after the devastating twin blasts at the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured more than 170, the area around the finish line on Boylston Street and Copley Place remains in a subdued mood despite most shops and businesses resuming

work on Saturday itself.

“Everybody is still kind of in a state of shock about what happened and how close it was to where we are. We’re trying as a unit and as a community to recover. Today’s shoppers seem to be in better spirits than yesterday, which is good,” said Tionna Conley-Range, a supervisor at the Lucky Brand store in Copley Place according to Women’s Wear Daily.

After Friday’s lockdown due to the city’s massive manhunt, area fashion and department stores like Talbots, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s, Chico’s, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers and others opened again on Saturday, with shoppers browsing and reconnecting with an area rather than shopping. “Every few people mention what happened but we are trying to get people’s minds somewhere else,” said an Elie Tahari sales person in Copley Place.

On Sunday, quite a few people chose retail therapy to take their minds off the ghastly events. At Arsenal Mall in Watertown, Massachusetts, a part of the Greater Boston Area where Friday’s manhunt took place, shoppers were out in great numbers. “A lot of people came to the mall Saturday because they just wanted to take their minds off everything that has happened. Today you see more shopping bags. People are shopping to shop,” noticed Renee Escobar from Foot Locker.

Area shops pledge support

Apart from staying positive and supportive during difficult times, some stores and brands are even planning to donate a percentage of their net sales toward help funds for the victims and their families; Brooks Brothers for example announced it would donate 10 percent of the net sales from its nine Boston-area stores to The One Fund according to regional sales manager Greg Mongno, and Saks also promised 10 percent of sales from a Friends & Family event running from April 24 to May 1 to the same fund.

Though it is yet too early to determine how gravely the closures will affect the retailers economically, they may recoup 90 percent of lost revenues and that too quickly, namely 75 percent in the first week with normal opening hours itself according to an estimate by Adam Rose, coordinator for economics at the National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events.

Department store chain Lord & Taylor has to keep its store on 760 Boylston Street closed until further notice as its proximity to the events have made it part of the crime scene. Footage from the retailer’s security video had even provided a clear image of a suspect’s face. “The camera from Lord & Taylor is the best source of video so far,” spokeswoman for Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino Dot Joyce had said on Wednesday according to The Boston Globe. The store’s reopening will depend on a decision by law enforcement officials, and an announcement by Lord & Taylor is expected later today.

A minute of silence will be observed in Boston and around the country at 2:50 pm local time today to mark a week since the blasts.

Image: Rebecca Hildreth