S.F. shopkeeper hopes for Small Business Saturday boost after slow Black Friday
SAN FRANCISCO -- The owner of Dantone Milano in San Francisco's Cow Hollow neighborhood said he planned to close his doors early on Black Friday.
It's traditionally a slow business day for one of the city's oldest shoe boutiques.
"Because everyone goes to chain stores for the deep discounts but, because we don't do that, we only get our regular customers and sometimes the tourist," said Farzad Arjmand. "Black Friday doesn't really mean anything to us."
It's why you won't find sale signs around the Union Street store. Arjmand has owned it since 1985.
Small stores like his don't have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to pricing.
"It's not worth it for us. It's not fair for our other customers that they come and pay regular price or little bit of a discount. Discounted hugely? It doesn't make sense for us," he said.
It's estimated that slightly more gift buyers are likely to shop on Small Business Saturday than Black Friday this year, according to Bankrate.com.
A recent survey from Capterra shows 63 percent of small retailers expect to see higher profits this holiday season. Still, analysts say inflation will ultimately determine how well small businesses do.
Arjmand said most of his shoes range from $100 to $400. He's seeing a lot of hesitation among customers these days.
"They just look at the price and they put the shoe back down and they say they're going to think about it. They can't and I understand. As a customer myself, I'm in the same position when I go to other stores."
Stacey Hollingsworth, who is visiting from Memphis, first shopped at Dantone In 2013. On Friday, she left with four pairs of shoes.
"I feel like it is a wonderful privilege to be able to support the smaller businesses because I love that still have them open as an option to the bigger stores. There's just nothing like the experience," she said.
Arjmand said it is customers like Hollingsworth who keep him going.
"Business is here, customers are here, they're supporting me. During pandemic, I have lots of support from my customers, writing me 'don't close, don't leave,' 'cause I was thinking of closing up," he said.
Dantone is hopeful business will pick up on Small Business Saturday.