Local Stores Doing Better Than Big Box Retailers

PALM DESERT – Linda Athey of Rancho Mirage says she does 15-20% of her shopping on El Paseo. She credits the beautiful streets and shops with good quality items for the dollars she spends shopping on El Paseo. Nationwide salesfor women’s apparel and luxury items at big box retailers are way down, but that’s not the case on El Paseo in Palm Desert.

“It’s far better than last year”, says Riga Sekander owner of the Riga.Sekander says “People are more in the spirit of the holidays.” For Sekander sales totals weren’t bad last year but this year is even better. She says, “I’ve been looking at my daily says, they are up at least 30% more than last year.

The same goes for stores on Palm Canyon in downtown Palm Springs. While the summer months were scary for many, the cooler months and holiday shopping is driving sales. “We’re up more, it’s better than I thought we were going to be with the recession, but we’re up from last year”, says Alex Hoeder of Birkenstock Comfort Shoes.

Meanwhile back on El Paseo Monday night, photographer Brian Morgan just opened his Golf as Art Galleryshowcasingover 40 years of his golf photography and paintings.Morgansays there’s no better time than now to be in business in the Coachella Valley, “I think when things are bad it’s the best time because they are going it get better, when you’re at a low things are going to defiantly get better.”